The Song of the Cold
by Celena Winter
Summary: The best and worst things are usually made from passion. From the love and strength and the devotion which you put into your actions... your choices. That's why Harry sings the way he does and that's why Draco craves for Harry the way he does. AU, NonMagi
1. Beginnings

**Disclaimer: Most of the Harry Potter Characters belong to JKR and co. I just play with them.**

_**I would like to Thanks both my Betas: Mr **__**Tibbles**__** and Ms Mika**_

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**The Song of the Cold**

Chapter One

_Beginning_

The young man looked out of the carriage in what could only be described as bored curiosity. They had long gone through the forested arch that served as the only entrance and exit to the college. The woodland was the guardian and border to keep the rest of the world away from the boarding school, for several reasons. One such reason standing as: to keep the residents safe.

Ink black hair curtained the open scenery as dark eyes watched with hidden awe. All across, from what he was able to see without moving from his position, were open fields of luscious green grass, and the few trees that were still present - even after the forest was left behind - held a majestic manner that seemed almost magical. A rain of colour showered the air and the ground; petals and leaves from said trees escaped their holdings and danced in the wind with careless vigour. The sun gleaming onto the different planes and settings was giving away its own aura of enchantment.

He suppressed the urge to halt the coach so that he could indulge the sudden need to go out and play, like a child, amidst the colourful wonders.

The youth scowled at his own thoughts before letting his mind wander, _'How did it come to this?'_ "It seems to be the only thing that crosses my mind, as of late."

"What may that be?" His companion, the headmaster of the Sixth Form, asked, bringing his own twinkling blue orbs to land on vivid, confused emerald eyes.

"Nothing," The boy replied, turning his face back to the window, his voice void of emotion.

Slowly, the carriage began to kill its speed, bringing them to the very entry of the grey castle that would be the youth's home for the next two years. Harry stepped down from the small compartment, shaking his head from the change in spaces before looking up to the now huge-looking structure that stood before him. He shivered slightly although it was quiet warm and there was no breeze to speak of. The building held that look of forbiddance and fun as well as formality and class all in one. It was almost supernatural.

"Welcome to your new home." Dumbledore beamed, without really smiling, as he looked down at the seventeen year old.

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He followed the smaller boy, keeping a few steps behind. The escort was in fact a student from the junior brother school of Hogwarts, Hogstead. As it happens, said student spent so much time under suspension from classes that he had become the Headmaster's own personal assistant, running minimal errands. Or at least that was what he had been rambling on about, amiably, on his way to showing Harry his new bedroom.

"Most of the professors do at one point teach down at Hogstead, but of course we have our own professors. Dumbledore is head of both schools although McGonagall is like a second head teacher at Hogstead because Dumbledore spends a lot of his time here. That's why I'm here. McGonagall hates me; she can't stand me and therefore she sends me to the appropriate head of school, or college as is the case here." He flashed a smile as he half turned his face to look back at Harry sideways. Harry only managing to smile politely, but didn't really bother to hide his boredom all that well.

"What is your name anyways? My name is Collin, in case you forgot." He stopped before a door, standing just to the left of it as he waited for an answer.

"Thank you, Collin. If it is as you claim, and you spend most of your time here rather than at your own school, then perhaps I may see you again." Harry twisted the handle and opened the dark oak door to his bedroom; he walked in, and stood just behind the door already closing the wooden barrier. Collin smiled, although he seemed rather offended as he began to move away. "Oh, and Collin, my name is Harry Potter." Harry nodded his thanks once more and closed the door, not missing the grin that the younger boy sent him before he vanished from view.

"How did it come to this?" The seventeen year old repeated his mantra as he leaned back against the door for a second. Catching himself before he went into another daydream, Harry took in his surroundings and noted that his luggage was already in the room - on one side of the room at that. Presuming that the left was his side of the room, as that was where his luggage was, and that he was indeed sharing the room with someone else, Harry began to settle in.

Walking around the room, he began to familiarise himself with what would be his new quarters for the next two years. The walls were coloured a dark grey on his side, and the floor was of black marble. His bed was a king size, dressed in deep royal black with the black curtain that would normally surround it hanging to the left of the bed. Harry assumed that the curtain was perhaps an addition to the décor, after the room had become a shared accommodation, to add privacy for the individuals, as it stood quite apart from the bed itself. At each side of the bed stood grey night tables, both holding black night lamps and nothing else. A walk-in wardrobe stood to the left of his bed, the doors a medium shade of grey.

His roommate's side of the room sported a deep red with royal purple, a few personal items spotted around, but other than that, the area was immaculate.

The window was opposite the entrance door, it was a piece made entirely of glass, standing from floor to ceiling, with a fine black frame encasing it. Thin, elegant black vines moved from each of the four corners and met in the very centre of the frame. Upon closer inspection, Harry noted that the centre was not just a black cross, but the arms of the cross were actual handles. Pulling at the left handle, Harry opened the glass to discover that it was not a window, but a door, and that it led to a balcony. The balcony was made with the same intricate design as shown on the window's inner frame but in a simpler fashion as though to keep the stone's richness and control.

Closing the door, Harry turned to the room and continued familiarizing himself.

Two doors stood at each side of the room: one to the right of Harry's bed - and the other was exactly opposite - to the left of his roommate's bed. Harry's door was a dark grey colour whilst the other door was a dark purple. Moving to his door Harry found himself in an en suite bathroom. The décor was in similar colours to his bedroom, but it seem to be slightly brighter; the walls were a light shade of grey and the floors were a grey marble, a shade darker than the walls. The bathroom consisted of a shower and large marble counter sink facing each other from each end of the room. The counter was light grey, the mirror, which covered the entire wall, from ceiling to counter, was shimmering and vine shapes danced in light grey on the border. The toilet was in between the shower and sink, standing entirely in black. Facing the toilet was a line of black hooks on the wall, serving to hold robes, towels and so forth. The shower itself seemed to be an encased room of darkness; it was a section on its own, fitting at least half a dozen or so grown men inside with room to breathe. A glass pane served as a divider, running from wall to wall and from an inch below the ceiling to an inch above the floor, opening at the centre. The same patterns adorned the shower door as did the balcony door, only in this case, the vines were slightly thicker and a shade of medium grey.

Harry walked out of the bathroom and looked to his right. There, his desk stood there made of rich mahogany with a black-cushioned high back chair, tucked neatly into it. Letting out a breath of acceptance he moved to his luggage and began to unpack.

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"Are you sure that Dumbledore would really punish you with a roommate?" The redhead asked, as he lay on his bed, his head hanging upside down over the side as he played with the game in his hand, the tip of his tongue stuck out in semi-concentration.

His Italian friend only grunted a response, sitting at the head of the redhead's bed, his back leaning against the headboard, staring into space with a small frown.

"I bet he would." The blond on the other side of the room smirked. He sat in the middle of his deep emerald green bed, a couple of books scattered around him, a thick volume in his hand.

"Dumbledore hasn't really bothered before though. He has always just threatened with something, but never really followed through with the severity of those threats," The black haired girl that sat on one of the chairs pointed out as she looked up from her laptop, a small smirk of her own planted on her pink lips.

"That is true, but this time I think Blaise outdid himself," the last of the group, a brunette, commented walking in from the balcony with a book in her hands.

"How?" The Italian asked in mock outrage as he lifted his head to look at the girl.

"Oh come, Blaisey. Do not act the innocent. I don't think Dumbledore appreciated you throwing his students over balconies just to prove that your rope would hold," Pansy called out, her voice rather formal but her smirk told other tales.

"He didn't get hurt! Besides, it wasn't like he didn't have an extra safety set on him in the case that something went wrong; he did." Blaise shot to his knees in defence.

"Only the boy didn't know that. And being thrown over a balcony with only a flimsy rope from a coupled of storeys above the floor is going to traumatize any twelve-year old." Ron laughed as he pulled up, shaking his head as it swam lightly from the blood that had rushed to the top.

"Whatever; the boy was just a wimp," Blaise huffed, leaning back onto his heels and crossing his arms angrily.

"Face the facts, my dear Zabini, you are getting a roommate," Draco called out gently, his voice retaining the posh, mock-huskiness of always held.

"Bite me, Malfoy," Blaise bit out. Standing up rather roughly, he stomped to the door, opened it, and walked out; managing to bang it shut behind him, making Hermione and Ron flinch slightly and Pansy and Draco smirk further.

Ron moved up to follow the dark haired boy, but Draco stopped him. "He needs to cool down. Besides you can't go bursting in on a raving spoiled brat; it's bad for your health. I should know." Draco looked up from his book, the glint in his eyes pointing out that he was the one inflicting the pain, not the other way round.

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Harry looked around his side of the room once more. Everything had been cleared and put in its place. His trunk and his other bags now stood within the walk-in wardrobe with the rest of his things. Some personal effects showed around his side of the room. His laptop stood silent on the desk next to a lamp and an Emerald green dragon figure that he had bought on the shopping spree he had gone to, once he had been paid by his uncle Vernon.

A photo of his parents stood on one of his nightstands and a photo of his godparents stood on the other. With a nod of approval Harry dropped back on his bed, crossed an arm over his face and readied himself for a nap.

A door banged shut before his own door burst open and slammed shut again; the boy that had walked in, strutted right past him, muttering something about 'spoiled kids, crazy old coots, whimpering babies and room sharing.' Harry didn't move; he wasn't really interested in what would have his roommate in a strop. The door opening again made him move though as he sat up to see what was happening now.

A girl with light brown, curly hair walked in. Her walk was formal, but more studious rather than that of a spoiled rich kid. A taller, redheaded boy followed her in. He, too, bore himself with an air of grace, although he looked more casual. They walked up to the bed where the darker boy lay on his stomach; the girl stood just before the bed whilst the redhead moved to sit next to the feet of the Italian.

Harry lifted a dark eyebrow in question as the three presences seem to radiate a mourning aura. _"Has someone died?"_ Another person walked in, this time a black haired girl. She radiated a rich-kid grace, but the I-don't-give-a-damn look about her told Harry that people respected her for more than her money. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw yet another person appear, and resisting the urge to roll his eyes, he turned to look at the newcomer.

The blond stood, leaning against the doorframe looking straight at him, his silver eyes searching him in and out. Harry held his breath. The youth didn't just speak of money; he spoke of power, influence, unadulterated beauty and secrets.

"Oh, hello," Harry turned to the voice; the brunette was looking at him as though he had just appeared out of thin air.

"Hi," Harry nodded, standing up to greet whoever wanted to greet him.

"My name is Hermione Granger. You must be the new occupant." She smiled nervously as she moved forward and offered her hand.

"I'm Harry Potter, and yes I am." Harry took her hand in a brief handshake before letting go. His attention was still on the blond, although he could only see him out of the corner of his eye.

"My name is Pansy Parkinson. I suppose a welcome is in order." The other girl moved forward. She presented her hand as well and they shook smoothly. "The sulking brat is your roommate, Blaise Zabini. Don't mind him, he's just being sensitive now, he'll come round soon enough and introduce himself," she added mindlessly with a wave of her hand in the bed's general direction. A grunt emitted from within the pillow, and Pansy rolled her eyes.

"Hey, I'm Ron Weasley," The redhead called out with a wave. He stayed seated on the bed, his other hand gently massaging the back of Blaise's knee.

Harry nodded, a small smile lifting to his lips. Turning to the blond he waited for him to introduce himself. The others also seemed to wait, but Harry had a feeling that they were waiting for something else entirely.

The blond looked him up and down briefly as though decining whether he was worth talking to or not. A slight smirk lifted his lips and he moved inside. In a few strides he was standing inches away from the raven. "Draco Malfoy," Draco offered loud enough for the others to hear, before leaning in and whispering in a husky breath, "You and I, Mr. Potter, are going to have a lot of fun this year." Draco smirked as he felt Harry hitch his breathe, and with a small bite to the earlobe he moved back.


	2. Additions

Chapter Two

_Additions_

Granger had explained that Hogwarts College had in fact been just one school. Hogstead had not existed a decade previously, and only stood now because Hogwarts was so sought after. All the students from age eleven to eighteen attended the prestigious private school, but demands on the college made Dumbledore split the years. Now the first years, from eleven to fifteen, attended the smaller school (which was on the same grounds, but an actual twenty-minute walk away), and the rest of the students, from sixteen to eighteen, stayed at Hogwarts.

Harry also found out that when Hogwarts stood alone, ten years before, the students were divided into houses; the houses served as four different communities. That structure was still held at Hogstead to keep house loyalty amongst students. But although the houses existed at Hogwarts as well, it was not as enforced. The brunette had continued on to explain that, as they were the last years, they had been given the opportunity to choose their own courses. There was also the fact that many students, like Harry, had joined Hogwarts on at age seventeen, and had not attended Hogstead. These and many more factors were the reason why the houses were only held in regards to uniform and eating arrangements.

Harry let an eyebrow rise in confusion as he looked at Hermione from across the dining hall table, as though she had grown another head.

"What she means, mate, is that you can tell which student is in which house by the uniform they wear and what table they sit at for dinner. It's customary to sit with those of your own house, but other things that are still regarded as house loyalty at Hogstead, such as sharing dorms with fellows of the same house and taking all classes with your housemates, don't apply at Hogwarts. Here you get to share a bedroom with just one person, and that person is not necessarily in your house," The redhead explained, but still Harry retained the confused eyebrow near his hairline.

"I don't think that he's confused with the information that you're giving him," A voice laughed from behind, as Ron had opened his mouth to explain again. "I think he just wonders why you're giving him the information." Hermione looked up in question, a little offended by the innuendo within the words.

Ron, on the other hand, missed the unspoken words, letting his mouth drop slightly as he looked at the girl that stood before them, dressed in what was obviously not the school uniform. "Who are you?" He asked ungracefully.

Purple tinted eyes rolled elegantly as the girl let an exasperated breath fall from her lips. "I'm his assistant," she said, her smile sugar sweet. "Now come on, I don't have all lifetime." She waved her hand carelessly as she looked down at Hermione, her smirk telling the brunette to move.

Hermione let her eyes widen in surprise before she frowned, disgruntled, and stood from her seat and moving to the one next to it.

"Hello, Green Eyes." The girl smiled as she leaned over the table and pecked Harry on the nose. "Long time no see." She smirked before gracefully sitting down and elegantly crossing her long shapely legs.

"I saw you last week, Winter." Harry rolled in eyes, letting a smile grace his lips. "So what brings you to this end of the jungle?"

"Oh, you know this and that. How are you holding up, Doll?" Her voice was smooth, even with the less than rich language.

"It's a bore. I have yet to find anything that will entertain me, and I was hoping to have more fun once I was away from _Vernon_." Harry spat out the name as he jammed his fork into his uneaten sausage.

"Well aren't you lucky I'm here then." Winter grinned in mischief. "I, unlike you, have found plenty to do, and many to do it with." Her lips smoothed into another smirk, this one a little more predatory than the last.

"Oh Winter, whom are you going to kill now?" Green Eyes whined as he put all his focus on the girl before him - his eyes clearly betraying his voice, as they glowed with amusement, curiosity, and expectancy.

Winter laughed, "Am I so predictable?" She lifted a perfect eyebrow in query. Harry instantly nodded enthusiastically. She pouted, and then signalled with two manicured fingers for him to approach. "Well come, I'll let you in on some of my ideas," she said, her voice lowered so that only a few could catch her words and turn in interest. Her smirk fell on her lips once more when she noticed, out of the corner of her eye that Ron and Hermione had subconsciously leaned closer to her too, she let her head tilt so she could look at them, and Harry, who was inches away from her, followed her actions.

Hermione blushed as she sat up straight and faced her food. Ron was a little slower as he locked eyes with Winter before blushing and looking away, but his blush was entirely different to the one of his brown-eyed friend.

"Come on, let's go and talk somewhere more private." She smiled, closing in the gap between the two, and pecked Harry on the lips before pulling away and standing up with a small jump. She looked down at Harry and then at his plate. "Are you done?" She asked as he began to get to his feet. His eyes following her gaze, and noticing that there was still a sausage on his plate, he nodded and picked up his rucksack. Winter smiled, picked up the sausage with two fingers, and took a small bite of the end, sending Ron and Neville a wink as they burned a bright red and looked down.

"Winter," Harry called out, laughter in his voice although he seemed to try and chastise her. She looked in his direction, smiled innocently, and walked down the hall. With a wave to Dumbledore and McGonagall and winking to the Gryffindor boys once more, she took her leave.

"You're impossible," Harry said, scowling, as they walked out of the hall, all eyes on them. But as soon as the doors closed behind them, however, they turned to face one another.

"Yeah, I am, but you love me." Winter smiled genuinely, no smirk, no mischievous glint in her eyes.

"I _missed_ you," Harry clarified before enveloping her in his arms.

"Hey, Doll, you said it yourself, we saw each other only last week." Winter pulled away slowly, her tinted blue hair falling away from her eyes as she looked up and let her purple hues cloud in worry as she looked into emerald green eyes.

"Yeah, but I just missed you; can't a brother miss his big sister?" He smiled.

"I'm hardly your sister; we've just been together for a long time." Winter rolled her eyes and began to walk in the direction of the gardens.

"And by the looks of things, we're going to be together for a while, still," Harry laughed, following after her, and catching up to her easy pace in no time. "So, are you going to tell me why you're here? If I recall correctly, you are turning nineteen this next spring," Harry pointed out. He also pointed out her lack of a uniform.

"Are you studying 'Performing Arts?" Winter asked instead.

"Yes, naturally; among other things," Harry breathed out in irritation, not missing the fact that Winter was, in all her glory, avoiding his question. He truly knew her well; too damn well for his liking.

"Seriously, you're doing more than Performing Arts?" The girl ignored his sulkiness as she continued her bout of questions.

"Yes," Harry confirmed.

"What are they?" She smiled innocently as green eyes looked in her direction with promises of pain.

"Arithmetic and English Language are compulsory. Then I decided to do History of Performing Arts, Latin, Spanish and Italian. I also got involved in extra curricular clubs and joined the Song and Dance, Piano, Poetry and Horse-riding. Anything else you would like to know?" Harry crossed his arms, more than annoyed now.

Winter pouted at having Harry ruin her fun. "No wonder you haven't found anything to entertain you; you're such a drag." She scrunched her nose playfully.

Harry opened his mouth to retort, but held his tongue as he saw the playful glint in her purple eyes. "What are you doing here, Winter?" He asked again.

The girl flopped on the bench closest to her, crossing her arms sulkily. "Oh fine. McGonagall has a soft spot for me, as you know, and she let it slip that the school needed a substitute teacher for Performing Arts, so I vouched myself in. Dumbledore agreed, after I asked godmother to ask him if he would have me," Winter breathed out in monotony as she examined her nails.

"You asked her, or you 'persuaded' her?" Harry lifted an eyebrow accusingly.

"Oh fine, I persuaded her; but it wasn't like it was hard to do so, and in any case, she had let it slip that the school was in need." Winter defended herself quickly.

"So you're my new professor?" Harry smirked.

Winter looked up and let her own smirk lift her lips. "Oh yeah."

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Blaise elbowed Draco on the arm to get his attention, as the dinning hall suddenly fell into an unexpected silence.

"What!" The blond turned to the Italian only to follow his gaze as Blaise looked at what seemed to have captivated the attention of all those present.

In the entrance stood what could only be described as a 'drop-dead gorgeous babe', as Crabbe so eloquently put it after closing his mouth once Pansy had punched him hard enough to break his trance. The girl stood with most of her weight to one side, her hip curved out smoothly and her hands floated in front of her hips as her fingers played with an invisible object. She was dressed in black, her dress curved around her neck, coming down at the back and moving forward to cup her breast, running down the centre of her torso and opening into a skirt just after her bellybutton. The skirt was long, creating a tail and the back was full making her backside look bigger. The front was simple, but as she took a step forward and a leg exposed itself from the confining fabric, the long side-slit - that rose all the way up to just below the bone where her thigh and hip connected - was revealed. A few collected gasps and sighs escaped across the hall once the young woman made her way to her target. Her face, her arms, her chest, the small of her back and her waist - which were not covered by the dress - sparkled when the shimmer and the glitter that she wore was caught in the light.

Draco slapped Blaise's hand as the darker boy made to touch the girl even though she was a table away. The Italian pouted, but began snickering when he noticed Crabbe's own facial reactions.

She stopped behind Hermione; Ron was saying something to Harry, and none of three of them had noticed the out of place presence. The girl twisted a strand of her hair in her hand as she watched the exchange between the three Gryffindors, clearly amused. Her hair fell in layers, pure white in colour; not the white-blond of the Malfoys, but a clear white, with a tint of silver in a darker light. There were electric blue tints on the ends of her long fringe and her eyes seemed to sparkle with an unnatural shade of purple. Ron opened his mouth to speak again, but she interrupted him, making her presence known.

Draco frowned as the girl waved her hand and made Hermione change chairs. What bothered him, however, was not the obvious show of power that the girl showed, but the fact that Harry seemed to know her, and that he seemed to be unconcerned about anyone else aside from her. All of a sudden the green-eyed boy was alert and showing interest.

The blond felt his fork bend under his touch when he saw the girl lean forward and kiss Harry, with no objections coming from the raven.

"Draco, are you ok?" Pansy asked quietly, watching the exchange between Harry and the new girl, and the reaction from the blond next to her. He grunted a response, but didn't ease his hold on the fork, his eyes never leaving the couple.

Something snapped, and Draco just barely registered the item as his fork, when he saw Harry and his friend lean in close, too close for comfort. Simultaneously, the two turned to look at Hermione and Ron noticing that the two had leaned in to listen to what they were saying. The girl said something to Harry once more before kissing him. Draco shot out of his seat, but Blaise pulled him back down. The girl stood up and waited for Harry to do the same. When he did, they exchanged a few more words, and then she picked up a sausage. The male population in the hall (except Draco and Harry, who wasn't looking) almost fainted on the spot as she began to eat the small treat. Harry called for her to follow, and the two left, but not before she winked at the boys and sent a small smirk in Draco's direction.

The doors shut behind them and Draco shot out of his seat once more, walking purposely towards Hermione and Ron, who continued to look after the departed couple. Hermione was the first to realise that the blond had sat down with them and her worried gaze fell on Blaise as the Italian followed behind the blond, his thoughts running along with hers.

This was serious.

"Who was that?" Draco bit out through clenched teeth. No other movements or words were made by him, and there was no need, as the four others swapped worried looks.

"Harry called her 'Winter'," Ron offered meekly, but his bravery was short lived as Draco shot him a look.

"She didn't say much, just made a few comments that only made sense to Harry and her; they seem to know each from before Hogwarts," Hermione supplied quickly, trying to cover for Ron's lack of information.

"You think?" The blond shot sarcastically before standing up. Realising that there would be no more information coming from his friends, he went back to his table. The sick feeling in his stomach made the food look bland as he stared at his plate rather blankly, until his friends were ready to leave the hall.


	3. Life

Chapter Three

_Life_

"What's it like here?" Winter asked quietly, her eyes focused critically on the tips of her long white hair.

"I've only been here two days," Harry pointed out dully.

"So? I've been here two hours and I am loving it," Winter squealed gleefully.

"Sure. You would, wouldn't you? You like to mess with people's heads and all. You'll give anyone a run for their money in… anything." Harry waved his arms exaggeratedly only to drop them as his comment came to a bleak close.

Winter laughed at the boy's attempt to insult her and compliment her at the same time. "So, what's eating you?" She smiled gently, encouragingly.

"Those Granger and Weasley kids keep trying to befriend me. I wouldn't mind if I didn't know better. Granger is doing it to gather some form of file to hold against me, and Weasley is doing it either out of pity or boredom; both, if he's smart enough to pull it off," he bit out bitterly.

"Kids? Doll, you're not much older than them." Winter frowned in amusement.

"But I'm a hell of a lot more mature and considerate." Harry sulked, his back straightening in defence, although he knew he was safe with his friend.

"You _can_ be mature." Her purple eyes danced with amused understanding as she stood up and looked down at the boy. "And yes, you are considerate." She smiled reassuringly. "So out of your kind consideration, will you at least be polite to their attempts to befriend you, and stop looking at them as if they've grown an extra set of arms?"

Harry looked up defiantly, knowing that he had lost the small battle; he felt his lips lift into a little smile before a quiet laugh bubbled out of said lips. "I'll try, but I'm not making any promises," he agreed, standing up.

"As long as you try, Green Eyes, I don't care." Winter smiled.

"Come on, you have to see the lake during sunset." Harry suddenly moved, grabbing her hand and pulling her with him.

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"Oh, sit down, Draco; you're going to dig a trench with your constant pacing," Pansy said, rolling her eyes as the blond let another growl of irritation fill the otherwise quiet dormitory.

"Potter is not back yet," Draco bit out. The words were enough to appease the group of their worry. But they already knew why the Malfoy heir was frustrated and, instead of being worried, they were simply bored and annoyed.

"Yes, we noticed," Blaise deadpanned as he continued to scan the book on his lap. Ron, who was sitting next to him, grunted in agreement, continuing to type up his homework.

Draco shot them a dirty look. "It's been four hours, and he is always in his room before nine." He flopped down on Harry's bed angrily.

"First of all, Potter has only been here one night and, seeing as it was his first time here, I highly doubt he had anywhere better to be. So, yes, _yesterday_ he was in the room before nine," Hermione concluded, walking in from the balcony, a frown in place as she continued to think about something unvoiced, most probably a book she hadn't read. "Second of all, he is with someone that he knows, and she is probably the only person he trusts in the entire college. I don't think he will be hurrying back to his lonesome if he has the chance to be with some appreciated company," she pointed out as she sat next to Ron at the edge of Blaise's bed.

"'Mione has a point. Though, quite frankly, having Winter for company would render me insane; she looks very promising." Blaise looked up, a smirk plastered on his face as he let his eyes glaze over. The images conjured in his mind's eye caused a small shudder of pleasure to visibly run through his body.

Ron punched the Italian on his arm to pull him out of his fantasy. "You're not helping," he pointed out heatedly, signalling in Draco's direction, but his voice gave away a jealous glint that he'd tried to hide by looking down at his laptop. Blaise looked down at Ron, his brows furrowing at the boy's sudden emotion, but didn't comment because he saw that Ron was trying very hard to make himself invisible.

The blond seethed silently as Blaise spoke. Growling slightly, he tuned out the boy's words and moved further up on Harry's bed, but he was unable to keep a small image from taunting him as he pictured Harry and Winter together.

"Do you really figure that those two are _together_?" Pansy closed her book, crossed one leg over the other and looked directly at Blaise.

The Italian sighed as he felt her hot gaze upon him, and, with a defeated fall of his shoulders, put his book aside and looked at Hermione, Pansy and Ron, who all had their eyes on him. "I don't know. It's a possibility; she is, undeniably, a very good-looking girl, they have known each other for some time, and they are visibly very close and comfortable with one another."

"They did kiss," Hermione admitted with defeat.

"If you could call that that a kiss," Ron protested. Draco instantly shifted and sat up. "It was more of a peck, and she was the one to do it," Ron informed quickly, seeing the possible ray of hope that lifted the blond's chin.

"But did he say or do anything to discourage her?" Hermione asked, fighting back, not one to create false hope in people, especially her friends.

"No, but it was rather innocent," Blaise commented softly. He did not miss the small look of coy gladness that crossed Ron's features when he supported his argument.

"Just because it was innocent does not mean that they are not together," Hermione shot out heatedly.

"And just because they pecked on the lips doesn't mean they _are _together," Ron retorted just as strongly.

"Please, guys, this is not getting us anywhere." Blaise lifted his hands up in a sign of peace to both sides.

"Funny time for a kiss… if they are just friends, that is," Pansy mused.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Draco asked and looked at the normally assertive girl.

"Think about it, if they are just friends what was the need for the kiss? They weren't departing, and, from what Hermione said, they hadn't called on any words or actions that would have prompted a kiss." Pansy looked up at them, as though her words made all the sense in the world. But the others just continued to stare at her blankly.

"What manner of words or actions?" Hermione asked, also slightly confused.

"Well, if you're not in a relationship, what kind of attention would grant a kiss or any other form of affection?" Pansy questioned back.

"A compliment of sorts, I presume." The brunette shrugged, not being the best candidate to inform about relationships.

"Exactly, did anything that would ask for a kiss happen?" she inquired again, this time looking between both Ron and Hermione.

"No, Winter was just going to explain what she wanted to do while she was at Hogwarts, but then proposed to go somewhere quieter. Harry didn't say much, or do much, for that matter." Ron looked up in thought, unconsciously leaning on Blaise as he spoke.

"So that could mean two things: they are either in a relationship, and therefore wouldn't need a reason to show affection, or they are just extremely, flamboyantly close."

The room fell into a heavy silence as the two options were weighed in their minds. Draco fell onto the dark bed with a silent but irritated thud, closing his eyes as he let the minutes stretch, waiting for the raven-haired boy to return.

A little after ten thirty, Hermione pushed away from the wall she was leaning against and looked out of the window without really seeing anything. She looked at her wristwatch and clicked her tongue. Harry had yet to return and no one was really up for moving back to their own bedrooms.

"It's almost curfew," she announced gently and moved forward; Pansy, who hadn't moved from her seat, closed her book and stood up, joining Hermione, still standing by Harry's bed. The two looked down at the blond who was sleeping soundly, a small frown on his lips.



Blaise had his head rested on Ron's back while the redhead, snoozing on his stomach with his arms folded under his head, waved a hand to let Hermione know that he had heard her; Blaise, hardly jostled from Ron's movements, continued to read.

"Poor thing, he finally finds someone that he likes only to possibly lose him a day later." Pansy pouted in pity, smoothing a stray strand of blond hair from Draco's face as Hermione covered him with a blanket.

"Ron, are you coming?" Pansy called out as she got to the door.

A muffled grunt made the girls roll their eyes; they bid the three boys good night and made their way to their own dormitories.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

By the time breakfast came the next morning everyone knew that Harry Potter had not slept in his own bed the night before. Rumours quickly mounted, and Draco's anger rose with them.

Winter and Harry walking in together, the last people to join the breakfast, did nothing to alleviate the blond's feelings. The two laughed, oblivious to the looks and words that crossed the entire hall like wildfire.

Harry came to a stop behind Hermione and Ron; the two seats opposite them were unoccupied; green eyes looked into purple ones, seemingly questioning their owner's opinion. Winter rolled her eyes in mocking exasperation, making a small show of her obvious decision making. With a shake of her head the two continued on their walk and sat at the end of the table, ignoring everyone as they sat down and began to pile up their plates with food.

"Like I would make you jump into a pit of snakes." Winter laughed and she settled down to eat her meal.

"You _had_ asked me to _try _and accept their offer of friendship," Harry pointed out.

"Yes, Doll, when the time comes. You have me now; no need to ruin our fun with the little Know-It-All." Winter turned to look down the table, and upon meeting brown eyes, waved sweetly before turning back to Harry.

"You really don't like Granger, do you?" Harry laughed, shaking his head in amusement, not at all put out by her antics.

"What's not to like, Green Eyes?" Blue eyebrows lifted in question. "She is endearing, rather stiff, and quite dull, but a sweet thing nonetheless," she said quite seriously before smirking. "However, that simple reason of endearment is not sufficient enough to signify that I can't, and won't, have my fun with them all.

"I mean no harm, you know that. But they are so easy to bait, especially that handsome blond." Winter let her smirk turn into a darker leer as she turned her head slightly and let her eyes fall on a seething Malfoy heir.



"Malfoy? What has he got to do with anything?" Harry stopped his spoon going half way up to his mouth then brought it back to his plate as he looked down the tables and found angry grey eyes looking in their direction.

"Oh, not much; the poor thing is just a little possessive, that's all," Winter said, waving it off as she turned and bestowed a smile at her raven-haired friend.

"Tell me about it. He struts around like he owns the place; I can't image what it would be like to date him." Harry shook his head as he continued eating.

"It would be intriguing, to say the least," Winter proposed before popping a small slice of bacon into her mouth.

"What makes you think that?" Harry looked up, his eyes furrowing in confusion.

"Green Eyes, please don't tell me that this place has already dulled your senses." Winter let out an outraged little gasp, her face masking into horrified panic, before leaning forward and letting her naturally mischievous expression fall into place. "Just look at him, he is so predictable and yet unpredictable at the same time. You could just wrap him around your little finger and make him mush, but I bet that he's dominant." She crumpled her nose as her lips smiled impishly.

Harry let his eyes fall on Draco once more, his gaze darkening in thought and his frown deepening. "No, he is only going to cause more problems. Stay away from him." Harry pushed himself to his feet, his eyes narrowing on Winter as she opened her mouth to argue. She shut it again and frowned.

Harry picked up his rucksack angrily and looked at Winter once more. "Are you coming?" he asked.

"Do I have a choice, or will you carry me out caveman style?" She let her eyebrow lift.

"Winter," Harry hissed, his demeanour darkening as the low tone in his voice trembled with a hint of warning.

"Oh, fine." The white-haired girl picked up the bacon strip that she hadn't cut up and followed Harry out of the hall, neither saying a word until they stopped walking.

"I simply do not want to get involved with him, in any way or form." Green eyes fell, covering the turmoil of emotion running through him.

"Harry," Winter spoke, the tone in her voice, and the manner in which she said his name, his given name no less, told the raven that she was unmasking herself. He looked up, and Winter nearly melted on the spot. "It's fine; we won't play games with him." She smiled gently.

"Thank you, Carrie."

"You're welcome, Green Eyes." Purple eyes smiled, before clouding over again, and the smirk was back in place. "Besides, do you really see me letting you have all the fun?"



Harry rolled his eyes, his mask also falling back into place. "I love you, Harry Potter, and I never want you to get hurt." Winter whispered the last few words before closing the gap between them and taking Harry's lips into a deep kiss.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Draco waited a few seconds after the two left the hall - leaving a confused silence in their wake, before he too rose to his feet - Blaise grabbed his arm before he could take a few steps and angry grey eyes met hazel orbs. "Malfoy--"

"I need to know." The blond pulled his arm from Blaise's hand.

"Is this the best way to find out?" Pansy came to stand next to the taller Slytherin and the two focused their eyes on Draco.

The blond didn't answer vocally; he turned and walked to the entrance of the dining hall, reaching the double doors quickly.

Once the door closed behind him, Draco paused to think about where Harry and Winter's location could possibly be. Shaking his head when nothing came to mind, he began to walk again in the direction of the main entrance, only to stop as he caught sight of Harry and Winter speaking in whispers.

Quietly, he moved behind the pillar so that Winter, who was facing his way, wouldn't see him. "Besides, do you really see me letting you have all the fun?" Winter's laughing voice floated across the open air as Draco leaned back to see the two. "I love you, Harry Potter." Draco froze as he saw Winter's lips move and heard the words, but the rest of her sentence was a whisper before she leaned in and kissed Harry, really kissed him, not a peck and not in the least bit innocent.

Draco fell back against the pillar. His head was swimming, his stomach growled displeasingly, his hands felt clammy, and his legs became weak. He was dizzy, and Hermione's voice seemed far too distant to be normal, although she stood right in front of him. He pushed her hand away as she tried to shake him for a response, and with a shake of his head, made his way to the stairs.

Hermione frowned in worry and confusion as she looked at her friend's retreating back. She had walked out of the dining hall, with the intention of going to the library, when she had seen Draco leaning against the stone pillar; his complexion was unnaturally pale, even by his standards.

Suddenly, she turned to look at the pillar, wondering why Draco had been standing by it in the first place. She moved forward and looked. There, in plain sight of everyone who walked past, stood Harry and Winter in what seemed to be a very heated kiss. The brunette gasped in shock at the sight. Winter's lashes began to flutter and Hermione panicked. She rushed back into the hall and began to shake, her mind in jumbles.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Harry pulled away breathlessly. "Is he gone?" He wanted to look behind him, but was unsure.

Winter grinned. "Yep, and the little Granger girl saw it too. I don't think that you'll be getting any trouble from them any time soon."

"Thank you." Harry smiled gratefully, letting his shoulders drop.

"Don't mention it. Just remember the next time you try and insult my talents that I'm good at what I do." Lashes fluttered over purple hues in self-assurance.

"I'll remember." Green Eyes smiled.


	4. Wacky Professors

Chapter Four

_Wacky Professors_

"Do you think I'm predictable?" Winter suddenly turned to Harry. Her hands, which were half way up the wall with a portrait of two dancers (one a ballerina the other ballroom dancer), lowered again as purple eyes met Harry's. He, too, stopped with the renovation of the Dance studio that would be Winter's classroom for an uncertain amount of time.

As it were, Winter had in all sense of the word, kidnapped Harry, and enslaved him to do her bidding. Or, at least, that was what he said that evening, on the day she had arrived at Hogwarts. She had taken him to her bedroom that night, refusing to let him go to his own, and she begged for his help to decide on how _they_ were to decorate her classroom. That had been on Wednesday and it was now Saturday evening.

"No, I don't think you're predictable. Why do you ask?" Harry turned back to placing the last chairs into the semi-circle they had decided upon. That way there was plenty of space for everyone to work on their pieces when the time came and at the same time the audience would also be able to sit and watch unhindered when the performance was on.

"Nothing, it's just… you knew what I was doing, and why I was doing it, when we decided Malfoy was not in our list of 'victims'."

"Harry stopped at her words and laughed. "That doesn't mean you're predictable, it means I know you too damn well. Just like you me." Harry smiled reassuringly as he noted the small frown of offence that Winter pulled at his outburst.

"Oh." She turned back with a smile of her own and hung the painting. Classes would start on Monday, and after three nights of long discussions that eventually led to Harry and Winter falling asleep on her bed, the two got clearance to make the studio to Winter's 'comfort' and now the forth night was approaching and after spending the days either talking or planning, they were half way through their work.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starved." Harry pulled back and admired his work.

"Yeah, so am I." Winter turned around to face the room. With a clap of approval, she made for her cloak, something that had been provided by McGonagall earlier on the day; she was to wear it for her lessons, naturally.

"We did well, just a few remaining touches to finish." Harry nodded as the two walked out of the door, making their way to the dinning hall, only stopping at Winter's room to deposit of her cloak.

"I can't wait to see the faces of you're little 'friends', when they find out I'm a 'professor'." Winter smirked as they pushed the doors open and walked in. A couple of people still paused at their entrance, but it was finally subduing, albeit slowly.

"They are hardly my friends, but I'm sure they will be shocked. They will be asking why you don't sit with the other professors and such other trivial questions." Green eyes rolled in exasperated boredom.

"Well that's obvious: I'm young and beautiful. I will hardly fit in with the professors, and besides, it's more fun to be with you. Godmother would only be scowling for this reason or that." Winter offered gaily as she took her seat.

"Thank you, I don't know what I would have done if you preferred McGonagall to me." Harry put a hand to his chest, playing the 'almost' heartbroken.

"You are more than welcome. But seriously, I wonder who they think I am?" Winter paused for a second.

"Probably the football team's mascot or cheerleader; I can see it now, they will expect you to walk in on Monday with the reds and gold of Gryffindor, in a mini rah-rah skirt and pompoms or streamers." Harry looked up to the ceiling, with a smirk on his face, as thought willing the image to materialise before him.

"Hah, they wish… wait why Gryffindor? Why not responsible Ravenclaw or humble Hufflepuff or even sly Slytherin? Why, _great-hearted_ Gryffindor?" She waved her hands in motion with her words, all the while trying not to burst out into laughter, although her otherwise calm face only showed her lip twitch ever so slightly.

"Because my dear, _whimsical,_ Winter, you are with _the_ green-eyed Gryffindor." Winter laughed at the mimics.

"Maybe I should _befriend _that darling Slytherin that just entered." Winter looked up to observe the brunette boy that had just walked in, momentarily breaking the current custom, that had become known in the past four days; of having Harry and Winter as the last to join the students for meals.

Harry looked up, unsure of who Winter spoke of, and froze in surprise. "Theodore Nott," Was the only thing that he managed to breathe out as the brunette spotted them made his way to their end of the table, completely ignoring the unspoken rule of sitting with one's own house.

"Hey, Potter, Winter." He nodded politely before he sat down next to Harry.

"Hey yourself, did you just arrive?" Winter enquired, oblivious to the fact that once again they had shocked the entire student body, with their unusual tactics.

"Oh yes, it was dreadfully boring back at home, but Vernon refused to let Crescent and me leave until we perfected our show. Like _he_ would know what perfection is!" He loosened his Slytherin tie a little more and bit into his stake with irritation.

"Where _is_ Moon?" Harry asked, and as if on cue another Slytherin student, that also hadn't been seen before; stood at the dining hall's entrance.

Moon let a smirk pull at her lips, like Winter, she knew that she was gorgeous, and was amused to see that the students agreed. But unlike Winter, who was more playful; Moon liked to keep a seductive yet calm exterior, never letting anyone close… enough.



Oh, she played the games; she just didn't play them like Winter did. No, she didn't, it just simply wasn't acceptable to be that much alike; they all had their own signatures, their own manners in playing; hers was just by far the most astute.

Winter got up from her seat and stood between the two tables facing the slightly younger girl and reflected the smirk. As if on cue, Harry and Theo rolled their eyes, but stood nonetheless. It was customary for them to receive their last member of the group (whom ever they may be), and they - no matter what the circumstances or location - always stood by protocol. The boys stood one step to each side of Winter and looked at the soft magenta eyes that watched them, their own smirks rising.

Slowly, Winter bowed her head with out loosing the eye contact or the smirk on her lips. A few seconds later Theo and Harry, simultaneously, let their heads bow, a little lower than Winter but still not breaking eye contact; their right hand rising into the air, palms down, in offering.

Moon smiled, bowing her head in acceptance and moved forward. Once reaching the three, she took her side by Theo and placed her hand on top of his offered hand, Winter, who had Harry standing on her left, put her hand on Harry's offered hand and the couples faced each other.

"With the Masks," Winter began.

"With no Masks," Moon's sultry voice followed.

"The Illusions," Theo whispered vainly.

"Belong to Ours." Harry smirked.

The small sound of clapping brought the group' eyes around to the professors' table, "Marvellous, I cannot wait to see you on set," Dumbledore, now standing, exclaimed. His words caused a chorus of confusion among all those present.

The four smiled gently in thanks, the words taken lightly, as though they were an often said complement, and took their seats.

"On set?" Harry hissed across the table at Winter.

Purple eyes turned to him, widening in surprise. "Why, yes Doll, I believe that's what he said," She offered gently as though confirming that he had heard right.

"What's going on, Carrie?" Harry hissed back. Theo and Moon watched the two, realising that something had turned nasty. With Winter involved, they weren't surprised, however, and, as they suspected, the girl breathed out in response to their thoughts.

"Well Godmother knows of our performances, and she was asking me how we were doing. Dumbledore just happened to hear and proposed that we would do a show for Christmas. I, of course, agreed," The white-haired girl explained slyly, her tone suggesting that the news was nothing special, but rather something of common occurrence.

"YOU WHAT!!" Harry all but shouted, startling the students around their table.

"Oh calm yourself down child. Your outbursts are unbecoming," Moon chastised. "In any 

case, you can't say you're surprised, this is Winter we're talking about here. You know what she's like."

"Sapphires, Winter has not left the table," Winter shot smartly, pointing out that she shouldn't be spoken about as though she was not there.

"We're quite aware of that, Darling." Moon smirked back before turning to her food and ignoring the purple hued glare.

Harry watched the two before letting his eyes fall on Theo, who only shrugged and continued eating. The Raven let his head fall onto the table with a defeated thud, only just catching the sound of Winter's tongue click disapprovingly.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

To say that she was worried was probably the biggest understatement made in the entire planet, no scratch that, the galaxy, no scratch that too, the entire universe. Ok, maybe she was exaggerating, but wouldn't you be? Hermione heaved a sigh.

Draco had locked himself in his room since Wednesday evening. He had come out Saturday morning, joining Pansy and Blaise for breakfast, and although he showed no signs of… anything, his friends could see the change in the spoiled-rich-kid look that he had perfected. Now he held himself in a very strict air of detachment, stiffness… an air of ear-splitting silence, almost like a conscious coma.

Hermione looked down the table and saw that Harry and Winter were very much engrossed in their conversation; much like they had been every time she saw them. They never spared anyone an ounce of a glance as they moved around the castle in their constant discussions, and everyday after dinner they would disappear completely, leaving everyone, all the more confused and suspicious.

Draco, on the other hand, showed no interest in them whatsoever, but his four companions knew better. He had said little to them when he joined them for breakfast, only responding with one or two word answers. But he had, ever so slightly, straightened his back further when Harry and Winter had entered the hall.

The five of them spent their morning in the library. No one really said anything as they read - or tried to read - their chosen books, or worked on their laptops.

Lunch time was no different from breakfast, except that Harry and Winter hadn't shown up. Their absence only managed to bring a small frown to Draco's face before he resumed eating his food with little to no involvement in the conversations around him. Hermione shared, what felt like the millionth, worried glance with Blaise, then with Ron and Pansy, but then they continued as though nothing had changed.

Their afternoon was, uneventful. They walked around the castle halls, the grounds, the gardens, and by the lake. Draco had led their 'little' walk saying he was bored and needed exercise. The others humoured him by complying with nods of 'understanding' and accompanied him. They knew, however, that he was looking for Harry and Winter, hopefully just Harry. Surprisingly, (or unsurprisingly, depending on how you want to see it) they saw 

neither Harry nor Winter at all during the slow venture around the college.

Draco showed a small battle of relief and annoyance across his face, when Harry and Winter walked in for dinner. Blaise presumed the blond was relieved to see that they were still in Hogwarts but annoyed to see that Winter was still attached to the Raven's side… or perhaps it was the look of bliss on both their faces.

Draco, along with his four friends, let an eyebrow rise out of curiosity as a Slytherin, whom they had yet to see before just then, stood at the entrance. The brunette stood in a space of indifference, mystery, and aristocratic intelligence. Soon enough the other students were looking his way, and they seemed to be caught in renewed astonishment, not that Harry and Winter hadn't provided enough surprises of their own. To further their intrigue, as well as shock, the new arrival, unblinkingly, made his way to the Gryffindor table and sat next to Harry.

This action would have been fine if the boy had just merely approached the duo and greeted them, or if he sat down and exchanged a few words then made his way back to his own table, but the brunette had done neither: he simply greeted the two and sat down to eat. A Slytherin eating at a table that was not his own without even acknowledging his own house… that was an outrage, perhaps mutiny.

Only Draco and his two right hand persons (Blaise and Pansy) had ever sat at another table, and even then it had only been for the simple exchange of information. Still, Draco had that sort of power and influence at his command. He was able to ignore certain rules; he was able to do as he pleased. True, he kept a lot of the power that he could exercise to a minimum, but that was beyond the point.

The blond seethed anew.

All their breaths were knocked out when the door open again and another Slytherin walked in, this time a female; a very beautiful female at that.

Magenta hooded eyes took in the sight before her, without moving her head. Her gaze was calculating as she took all the information she wanted with just a glance. Full, red lips smirked as her head shook back to push away the strands of pale-dull violet hair that fell over her face. Her ivory skin was a shocking, but pleasant, contrast to the dark uniform; her pleated grey skirt reached just mid-thigh, her shoes were a semi-comfortable two and a half inch pair of heels and her white stockings reached just above her knee. Her white shirt was open at the three top buttons and her tie was adjusted to the appropriate length as it outlined the v-neck opening that the shirt made. But her looks were put aside once the performance began; Winter stood and faced the latest arrival, Harry and Theo joined her, and they bowed to each other.

The entire hall stood stock still as the group met and spoke.

"With the Masks, With no Mask, The Illusions, Belong to Ours." Draco felt himself loose an ounce of control at the tinkle of Harry's voice, but Dumbledore's clapping, composed his exterior mask before it could shift.

"Marvellous, I cannot wait to see you on set." The headmaster's words send a flurry of 

questions across the hall, even the teachers, apart from McGonagall, seemed to be asking themselves what was going on, and for the first time, all day, Draco let his emotions show: he was plainly confused.

"YOU WHAT!" Harry's voice resounded across the large space, but the raven-haired-boy made no signs to show that he noticed, or cared, that he had drawn attention to himself - again.

Draco focused his eyes on the quartet as the new female said a few words. Winter scowled about something, and the girl replied just as evenly as the first time that she had spoken. The blond flinched inwardly as he felt, as well as saw, the forehead and table connect as Harry seemed to be at a loss. Winter shook her head in distaste before making some sort of noise to catch Harry's attention as he looked up and rested his chin against the wooden surface. Winter let her hand move forward, her fingers cupping Harry's chin before rubbing it gently and making him scrunch up his nose in amusement. Draco looked away, only to lock eyes with Magenta orbs that analysed him quickly before he broke the contact and looked away.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"I see Malfoy attends Hogwarts." Moon looked away from the blond and addressed the others. Theo and Winter sent sideways glances in the Malfoy heir's direction before looking back at the fair skinned girl.

Theo's eyes darkened and a small growl rumbled through his lips; Moon's eyes shadowed as well. Harry looked away, not bothering to acknowledge the conversation. "Yes, he attends here - Malfoy? Hearing _you_ say the name rings a bell." Winter looked at Moon, her eyes frowning in concentration.

"We haven't met his father, but we have heard of _him_ and _he_ is one of our main sponsors," Moon clarified, not saying anything else.

"Not that we need _his_ money," Theo pointed out, slightly offended.

Winter opened her mouth to ask something else, but she stopped when she remembered. Her eyes fell on Harry, who was busy playing with his nails. Her gaze softened as she realised his antipathy towards Draco. "Green Eyes… do you want to go?" Harry looked up to see the last traces of sympathy wash from Winter's eyes as she winked with renewed mischief. He nodded.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Those creatures are absolutely extraordinary," The dark professor breathed out. Minerva McGonagall, who had been sitting on his left, let an amused chuckle reach her lips as she looked across the table.

"Severus, you make them sound like animals," She mocked gently, glad that he approved of the quartet.

"Well, they certainly are not human," Severus Snape retorted.



"They may be more human than most." Dumbledore beamed from the other side of Minerva, his eyes twinkling as usual.

"With those looks, you cannot be serious. There has to be something to them, I know that much," He huffed, irritated.

"Certainly, Severus, there must be something to them, but to say they are not human? Do you not think that's a little far fetched?" Minerva looked at the man, her offended disbelief clearly shown in her light blue eyes.

"Come on, Minerva, be serious. The Malfoys are close to perfection, and even they have flaws visible." Severus placed his cutlery down and turned to look at the older woman, daring her to argue back.

"Ah, but there has always been one more than Malfoy, hasn't there?" Dumbledore chuckled, popping a piece of steak into his mouth.

Severus frowned looking to the closed doors, the four friends had just left. "Ok, that explains Potter," He admitted realising, with some bitterness why the Gryffindor boy had seemed so familiar. "But that doesn't explain the other three."

Dumbledore let his eyebrows rise is amusement. "I suppose we'll just have to wait and find out. I, for one cannot wait to see what they have in store for us. Minerva has delightfully filled me in on what an outstanding set of performers they are."

"So, that… what they just did… was that a sneak preview, of sorts?"

"Oh no, my dear Severus, that is their greeting to each other." Minerva announced gently, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I don't understand."

"When the group separates, without knowledge of when they will meet again, they do a small 'Ceremony of Departure'. It is a wonderful sight; I have seen it but once," Minerva explained her voice full of pride. "I presume they had done the 'Ceremony of Departure' as it is only customary to do the 'Ceremony of Greeting' when all four, and I emphasise on _all four, _re-meet." Severus looked all the more confused. "The reason that they did the ceremony when they did was because all four were reunited. If one of the members is not present, and they have done the 'Ceremony of Departure' they will not do the 'Ceremony of Greeting' until the missing person arrives." Severus still looked at the woman in utter bewilderment.

Minerva narrowed her eyes. "You're so like young Mr. Potter: Infuriating," She chastised as she turned to face forward and refused to acknowledge the man beside her as he smirked back.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Once again I will disclaim the characters of Harry Potter as not my own.

_Carrie Winter and Sapphires Moon do belong to me however._

**Just to let you know, Sapphires would be said (Sa-ffee-rez) Not Sapphire -**


	5. Lessons

Chapter Five

_Lessons_

Sapphires, Theo, and Harry were already inside the studio when Pansy and Blaise entered for their first lesson of the year. The three, were currently deep in a hushed banter, and hadn't noticed the two new presences in the room. Blaise looked at Pansy, but the girl only shrugged her shoulders, unable to answer the question in his eyes. They moved forward to join the three friends that sat at the front left corner.

"Hey, Potter, are you going to introduce us to your friends?" Pansy asked flippantly, breaking the conversation that they still couldn't hear.

Theo instantly stiffened, his light brown eyes glazing over defensively. Sapphires sat back in her chair, her eyes hooded gently as her arms came up to cross over her perfectly sized breasts. "Who may you be?" Her voice was a seductive octave even in query. Pansy whacked Blaise as his face broke into a goofy smile.

"Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini," Pansy offered the names with a nod of her head towards herself, and a flick of her hair in Blaise's direction.

"Ah, Parkinson and Zabini. Does Winter know?" Moon let her eyes question Harry, whom hadn't moved from his seat and had yet to make his presence active. A curt nod was sent to Blaise as the Italian smiled at the green-eyed-raven, but there was little to no acknowledgement towards Pansy.

"Does Winter know what?" Another voice broke through the silence that fell when Harry shook his head to Moon's enquiry.

Pansy and Blaise turned to look at the new presence. "Winter?" Blaise was the first to speak as the white-haired girl walked out of a side door. A cloak in hand as she made her way to the mirror that was half concealed behind a screen that stood by the side of the raised platform.

"Yes?" She paused, turning around with her eyebrows raised in questioning acknowledgement. "Oh, good morning. I'll be with you in a second," She smiled gently before turning back to the mirror. Shaking the robe out, she let it slide to the floor before swinging it over her head and letting it rest on top of her shoulders, tying it loosely so it didn't fall off but rested just-off her shoulders slightly.

Fixing her look, she posed in different angles in front of her reflection and rearranged her hair. "Ok, so does Winter know what?" She asked again as she made her way to the students that waited for her.

"You're a professor," Pansy let out, her tone sounding more like a statement than an actual question as the white-haired girl came to a stand still next to Harry.

"Yes," Winter breathed out, rolling her eyes in a way that said _'Duh'_. "So, for the third time, what is it that I don't know?"

"Have you not met your students, Winter? Miss Parkinson and Master Zabini," Moon smiled gently as her eyes continued to watch the Slytherin duo.

Winter frowned as she looked at Moon in question, and then she looked at the two friends that stood a little ways from their group. Her lips formed a small 'oh' shape before she brought a hand to rest on her chin, her eyes glistening with recognition. "That is interesting, very interesting." Winter smirked.

Pansy frowned, her eyes meeting Blaise's hazel gaze. He was better at masking his emotion than she was, but at that moment in time she was not bothering with such thoughts as she saw Theo lean forward and whisper something in Sapphires' ear. She nodded in response, her eyes not breaking eye contact with Blaise.

But any questions that were to be asked were cut short as the door opened and students began to fill into the room. "Oh, good, lesson time." Winter looked towards the new students walking in, with one final smirk to Pansy and Blaise; she walked to the centre of the room, standing just before the stage.

Winter smiled gently as she waited for all the students to find their seats and fell into awaiting silence. Small frowns of confusion began to mar their faces as the students watched and waited for the girl to start speaking. But Winter, however, seemed to be content with watching over her class, taking in the faces that surrounded her. Whispers spread out as the minutes began to stretch but it came to a sudden end as Winter straightened and tilted her head to the side as her eyes fell on the door. In that instant the door burst open and a Hufflepuff girl stumbled in, out of breath.

All eyes turned to her, and her face reddened in embarrassment. "Sorry I'm late," She whispered as her eyes fell to the now very-interesting stone floor.

"That's ok Doll, we're just starting now. You haven't missed anything," Winter smiled with a wink. "Now come, there's a place left here next to Mr. Nott" She waved her hand in a small flare as she motioned to the only chair left.

The small sandy-blonde Hufflepuff did as she was told and Winter began the lesson. "Good morning, students. My Name is Professor Winter and I will be teaching you Performing Arts, for an undetermined period of time, until a more suitable teacher is found by the college. The lessons that I will be giving you are practical. You will be learning dances, songs, acts… you will be putting yourself through every experience of your chosen art. You will feel what they feel, see, talk, sing and dance, like they feel, see, talk, sing and dance. I want your passion, your desires, you dreams… I want it all and I do not accept slackers. You will give me 110 or you will leave; I will not tolerate you wasting my time, or anyone else's time. Understood?"

A chorus of 'yes ma'am' and a wave of nods was the given answer. "Ok… so first of all, I want you to see a performance." Winter moved to the side where a hi-fi system stood, picking up the control she moved back to the centre. "These are two of my own students and they are going to show you some of their own work. Nott, Moon. Get up here." Winter called the two as she signalled the stage. "Unexpected Song," Winter informed them as Moon lifted an eyebrow in question. The two nodded.

Theo stood up and shrugged off his cloak, folded it, and placed it on the chair. Moon stood up once Theo was done and he took of her cloak for her. Offering her his hand, the two walked to the stage and walked on, nodding to Winter.

'_I have never felt like this_

_For once I'm lost for words_

_Your smile has really thrown me…'_

His hands ran down the length of her raised arms, sliding like rose petals against silk. His fingers stopped and pressed gently into her hips and simultaneously their bodies began to move, their hips rotating swiftly, their moves gentle and fluid. Their mirrored dance stepped into different beats and shapes, the elegant glides and floating spins falling together and fitting like a puzzle.

The crescendo of the song began, as did the passion that the couple mixed into their act, their movement becoming more desperate but maintaining the same alluring softness to the performance. Their breaths hitched, and they moved apart. He began to shadow her, his steps a split second behind hers and their proximity inches apart. The climax rose higher, reaching its peak within seconds. She stepped back and they joined again, becoming one and then breaking apart as the last note played and echoed.

Silence reigned in the studio as the couple returned to their places. Slowly, one by one, the students blinked and let their breaths out, not realising that they were holding them in. "That… is what I'm expecting from each and every one of you." Winter broke the silence before any praises or claps could break out.

"You seriously think we can do that?" The Hufflepuff girl that had arrived late, asked in a small voice.

"And why, pray tell, not?" Winter folded her arms, her face scowling gently. "I already stated what it is that I will expect from you… you may have been late for class, but you heard the introduction. If you have a problem with the aims that I'm setting, then I suggest you change courses."

"I'm sorry."

"Calm down, Winter, it's only just begun; don't jump down their throats." Theo called out gently, smiling gently at the sandy-blonde bundle of nerves sitting beside him.

"Well I don't recall you complaining when your training initiated," Winter called back airily, as though it was an event that took place hours earlier, instead of years prior.

"But we are different, Winter; we have been trained dissimilar to them," Moon pointed out, her whispered voice resounding across the room.

"Ah, but they _have_ been trained, which is why they are here. In which case, they should know what it is expected of them."

"Stop speaking about _them_, as though they were not here." Harry spoke out.

"Sorry," Winter rolled her eyes at the reprimand. "So, any more questions?"

"What does Mr Potter have to offer?" Pansy questioned a smirk on her lips.

"Mr. Potter is not a performer, he is an observer," Winter smirked back, not missing a beat as her eyes levelled on the dark-haired Slitherin.

"What does an observer do?" A Ravenclaw asked from the back row.

"He will be able to judge on the performances." A tide of whispers broke out as the class began to speak amongst themselves.

"Ok," Winter spoke over the hushed voices and silence fell anew. "I want you in six groups of five. Once you have your group, seat down." She instructed. "I don't want groups of people from the same House or more than three people who already know each other." The buzz of voices rose again and this time the sound of scraping chairs against the stone floor, and the shifting of cloaks and bags, joined the noise as the students began to move around the three rows of chairs.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Cool grey eyes focused gently on the outline that made the horizon outside the classroom window. Draco was completely, and utterly, bored and his mind, no matter how much he tried, still strayed to a certain cold Gryffindor that tranquilly refused to acknowledge him. He let out a frustrated sigh as he envisioned those green eyes once more; it seemed impossible to struggle so he gave up on the view outside and refocused his attention on Professor McGonagall.

"Mr. Malfoy, could you please tell me what the Paasche price index is for March?" The older woman's voice swam evenly across the room, and all eyes turned to the blonde aristocrat that sat at the very back of the classroom, to avoid situations such as this. Now he was put on the spot and there was nothing to do but comply.

Draco let his eyes scan the book before him for a few seconds before looking back up. "118.389" His voice was flat, as he turned his attention back to the window only just acknowledging McGonagall's affirmation that the answer was correct.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Great, now group one, you will be doing a piece of song. Group two, you will be doing some acting. Group three, you will do a dance." Winter smiled as the third group nodded and also moved on to start planning their work. Theo, Moon, Harry, Blaise, and Pansy made group four, and Winter smirked when she reached them. "I would like some song from your group, please." Her smirk widened to an almost animalistic extent as her eyes danced on the two Slytherins, before moving on. "Group five, I want an act, and group six, you will give me a dance."

By the time Winter made it back to sit by the stage, the groups were all settling into their own space, plans and ideas already taking most of their attention. "You have an hour and twenty minutes. Don't disappoint me." She called out, purple eyes dancing with mischief.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

AN:

The song to which Moon and Theo dance to is: _Unexpected Song_ by _Sarah Brightman_

**Spoilers**

AN:

Hey guys, this is just a little something from one of the pending chapters. As this chapter itself is rather short, I thought I'd keep you in suspense hehehe. Enjoy!

-

_The gentle fabric rustled slightly with movement before silence fell once again within the room. A few minutes passed before the agitated tension was broken. _

"_I hate this… I hate not being able to do anything… I hate thinking they may be hurt at any one point of time." The voice was broken, almost defeated._

"_I know, Love, but we just have to pray and hope. They are strong; they will find a way out, and they will find a way to be… together." A wistful sigh escaped._

"_I hate seeing you like this." The voice fell a little more, this time defeat was clouded by self-loathing and anger._

"_At the very least, you can still see me." The voice held a small smile._

"_I love you,"_

"_and I love you."_

"_Oh God, when did you get so beautiful…?"_


	6. Wednesdays

Chapter Six

_Wednesdays_

"She's brilliant."

"Oh, will you drop it?" Pansy snapped throwing Blaise a dirty look as the two arrived at the library table and joined the others.

"What's wrong?" Hermione looked up, her eyes darkening instantly.

"Oh, we just had Performing Arts and Wint-"

"Winter is a good actress and Blaise won't shut up about it," Pansy retorted, slamming her books onto the polished wood.

"Oh?" Ron sat up, glancing at Blaise.

"There's something else bugging you," Hermione stated her eyes fixed on the dark haired girl though her fingers still tapping at the laptop with minimal pauses.

"It just bugs me that they have been here – what three to four days? – and they are already known as the 'Perfect Four'. Do you know how long it took us to get recognised?"

"Oh, so you're just pissed off coz they have a better popularity status." Ron fell back on his chair and smirked.

"I hate it when you talk like that," Pansy frowned, "And don't laugh at me. It's simply irritating me that we have held our ground for almost six years, and all they can ever say is that we're great. _They_ get tagged 'Perfect' within a week. There's far too much emphasis on their _perfection_… like we can't see it for ourselves without having it rubbed in our faces." Pansy huffed again. Her books lay forgotten as she crossed her arms over her ample chest.

"It seems to me that you're the only one having a fit over this. _I_, for one, don't care, and '_they_' don't seem to be throwing a party over there." Blaise turned his chair and sat on it his chest to the backrest.

"You wouldn't, Zabini. You're in love with the leader; or rather with the second in command, as Malfoy here is in love with the leader," Pansy retorted sharply.

"I am not in love with Winter… I just find her incredibly attractive and talented." Blaise smirked.

"I'm sure her tongue is as talented as her hips." Pansy glared.

"I wouldn't know personally, but that may be true. Ask Potter, he might know," Blaise countered, unconsciously cringing at the look that Draco sent him. "Or, I can ask him for you; I'm sure you're dying to know."

"Bite me, Zabini,"

"Sorry, I'd prefer to bite Winter, but thanks for the offer."

"See you guys later," Ron said as he pushed his chair back, making it scrap loudly against the stone floor and obtaining the attention of the librarian.

"Where are you going?" Blaise perked up, ignoring the redhead's dirty look.

"Nowhere,"

"Can I come?"

"No,"

"Why not?"

"Because,

"Please?"

"No!" Ron shouted, tearing out before Blaise could say any more.

"Ron?" The Italian frowned.

"It's all your talk of Winter," Hermione looked up.

"What has she got to do with anything?" Blaise lifted an eyebrow baffled.

"Oh, now she's not that interesting?" Hermione stopped her typing.

"Why would she be… she may be attractive and talented, but she's only fun when I get to piss Parkinson off," Blaise deadpanned receiving a slap on the arm from Pansy. "Ouch, can I help it if you're so easy and high strung?"

"I suggest you go and explain that to Ron," Hermione cut off Pansy before the black haired girl could move.

Blaise frowned in understanding, and left.

"You're awfully quiet," Pansy leaned forward.

"Not much to say."

"Come on Draco, not even an insult on Blaise and Ron?" Pansy sat up.

"You know… Potter really must be the leader of that little group."

"Oh, not you too," Pansy said as she fell back into her chair.

"Don't slouch, Pansy dear, it's not very lady like."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Ron?" Blaise opened the door slowly, poking his head in through the gap. The bedroom was much the same as his and Harry's bedroom, except for the colouring. Ron's side of the room was a mixture of different shades of reds, oranges and greys.

Draco's side was deep greens, blacks and dark blues. "Ron?" Blaise called out again.

"What do you want?" Ron sat up from his bed.

"Ron, can we talk?"

"Why?"

"Because we're friends," Blaise answered as he walked into the room and closed the bedroom door. Ron laughed, shaking his head in disdainful disbelief.

"Ok fine; if you don't want to be my friend then will you go out with me?"

"What?" Ron looked up his eyes darkening.

"If it's so hard for us to be friends, then I think we should date," Blaise repeated.

"Don't play games with me, Zabini."

"I'm not playing games… for once in my life, I'm being serious."

"What about _Winter_?"

"What about Winter? Last time I checked she was an attractive _teacher_ that couldn't hold a candle against you. Ron, if we're being serious here… there's only ever been one for me… and I wouldn't exchange you for a billion Winters." Blaise got down on his knees and looked up to smiling blue eyes.

"That's such a cheesy pick up line." Ron laughed.

"Ah, but you're smiling, that's all that matter."

"You're hopeless,"

"Is that a 'yes'?" Blaise asked.

"'Yes' to what?"

"Ron!"

"Ok, ok, yes!"

Blaise grinned, stood up, and pushed Ron back onto the bed as he descended to take the redhead's lips on his own for a soft, first kiss.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Are you going to work on Friday?" Theo fell heavily on his seat. Moon and Winter continued to rehearse their cerography.

"Yes, are you?" Harry glanced at the Slytherin briefly before turning his eyes back to Winter and Moon.

"Don't have a reason not to go."

"Is Vernon going to be there?"

"No, he is going to a 'well deserved' holiday for two weeks," Theo chuckled.

"Good; I don't think I'm up for another 'discussion'."

"He knows there's nothing he can do… he just likes to make a lot of noise,"

"He's only getting louder as of late." Harry mumbled.

"With good reasons: he knows that soon enough he'll be out of the game."

"I can't say I feel bad, he should have known better than to bite the hand that fed him."

"That's true – Moon, don't drop your chin!" Theo called out, sitting up.

"Is aunt Petunia going away too?" Harry shifted in his chair.

"No, she didn't want to leave you on your own," Theo smiled.

"How did she say that to Vernon?"

"She didn't want to leave the club to the likes of us." Theo smirked.

"She could make a good actress," Harry laughed.

"Even Granger could be a good actress for all Vernon knows about art."

"I can't believe he was putting Dudley and his friends in one of the acts,"

"Good thing mother came in and put him in his place," Theo laughed.

"Thank God. How is your dear mother, by the way?" Harry smiled gently.

"She's doing great, misses you… can't stop complaining about your lack of visits."

"Yes, I must go and visit soon. It seems I should have stayed with private tutors."

"What do you mean?"

"I hardly have time to myself now let alone make time for others… and then there's the little Malfoy heir. You would think he could take a hint, being the son of a lawyer and all. But I suppose that is far too much to ask for." Theo frowned slightly but didn't object.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Alright, I'll go and practise now." Harry rolled his eyes and he stepped away from Winter's wagging finger.

"Don't think you can go slacking just because you're naturally talented."

"I'm going, I'm going," Harry chuckled, already turning around to make his way to his bedroom and away from Winter.

"Oh, and Doll," He paused, semi turning to look at Winter, her sneer stretching across her face. "Take a shower; it might help… your odour, if nothing else." Winter laughed before blowing him a kiss and twirling in the opposite direction.

"I didn't know you cared," Harry called back.

"I don't, but your pompous little snake will." Winter shot back with a barked laugh, disappearing around the corner before the raven could reply.

"A shower it is."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Draco, take a break." Hermione closed her laptop with an audible snap to get the blonde's attention.

"Ok," Draco mumbled, but continued reading the thick volume.

"Now!" Hermione snapped a little louder than necessary. She received a 'silence' from the librarian, but the brunette ignored it.

"I'm coming," Draco waived faintly.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy, you will get out of that chair this very instant and go for a break!" Hermione snatched the book from his hands, closed it, and slammed it on the table with a thud.

Grey eyes blinked a few times, cringing back as Hermione threw a death-glare at the librarian before fixing him with piercing brown eyes.

"I'm gone," He smiled gently attempting to appease her, but his smile fell just as quickly as it had begun as she narrowed her eyes further. Without another word he pushed his chair back gently, and walked around the table, his eyes never leaving Hermione until he was a safe distance away. Once this was accomplished he walked away very, very quickly.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Draco froze as he heard a door handle rattle. _"There is no way in hell that Blaise and Ron have parted already."_ He let his eyes turn to the bedroom door, but the dark wood remained motionless. He was about to dismiss the noise as paranoia, when a sharp shard of light cut across the dark bedroom as the bathroom door eased open and Harry walked out of the steamy room, a towel wrapped precariously low on his hips whilst another towel was being rubbed feverishly on his head. Blindly, the dark haired boy reached for the light switch and flicked the lights on, rendering Draco sightless for a few seconds.

"Can I ask you, what you are doing on my bed?" Draco froze anew. Slowly, he lifted his gaze, blinking away at the brightness of the light until his eyes adjusted on Harry's form.

"Ron and Blaise are in our room, somewhat competing rabbits. I don't really want to think of what they do in Blaise's bed." Draco blushed, inwardly patting himself for the quick thinking.

"You couldn't have used the sofa or one of the chairs?" Harry lifted a perfect eyebrow.

Draco let his eyes widen momentarily, his face burning a deeper shade of red. "I – didn't think about it," He admitted, moving to the side to get off.

"Oh," Harry said, as though that explained the greatest mystery of the worlds. "Well, go ahead and knock yourself out. It isn't like you haven't slept on my bed before." He moved around the bed, reaching his wardrobe and going into it, effectively moving away from Draco's line of vision.

"How did you-" The blonde mumbled, unable to finish the question as his blush intensified, again. Damn, he hated himself for being so _girly_ when it came to Harry.

"I may not have seen you, but I noticed your scent on my pillows." Harry walked out again, this time wearing pyjama pants, also riding low on his hips.

"Sorry," Draco whispered, bowing his head gently.

"Don't be. I'm sure you just didn't want to see or hear Zabini and Weasley going at it like _rabbits_," Harry excused for him, but the laughter in Harry's voice told Draco that the raven knew otherwise. Still, Draco neither confirmed nor denied as he dipped his head lower. "Sleep if you must; I'm sure you've had a busy day."

"What about you?"

"I haven't heard Zabini and Weasley doing anything, but why should I use their bed when mine is reasonably available?"

"You want to sleep with me?" Grey eyes rose and met steady green eyes, not daring to increase his hope, too much.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Malfoy. This is just sleeping, for tonight. Tomorrow we're back to hating each other." Harry pulled back his covers and settled himself in. "Or to be more precise, back to me ignoring your existence," He corrected, effectively shutting the blonde as he got ready to argue.

Draco let a small sigh escape his lips before joining Harry in the bed, making sure that he was neatly tucked at the end of his side, as not to aggrieve the raven, all the more.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Harry woke up to the feeling of warmth nestled within his arms. With some difficulty, he opened his eyes to the sight of Draco snuggled tenderly against him, his arms holding the blonde, protectively. He smiled, leaned down, and pressed a gently kiss against the temple. Brushing back a few blonde hairs back, "Oh, little Dragon." He whispered before pulling away, getting out of the bed, reading himself for the day. With one look back, he left the blonde.


	7. Spy

Chapter Seven

_Spy_

Draco was enraged; in fact, the word itself did not have enough conviction. 'Incensed' wasn't any better and 'livid' was far too soft. Although, trying to find the perfect name to match his mood was only giving him a bigger headache.

It was the fourth weekend into school and the third weekend that the 'Perfect Four' had taken to completely disappearing. It was rumoured that they would actually leave the school grounds, but that had yet to be confirmed as no one was brave enough to question them directly or otherwise.

Draco wanted to know where they were and why they went to where-ever-they-went-to, but most importantly, he wanted to know why Harry had to go along. Why did he have to leave? Draco stopped pacing as a new realisation wormed into his head. _'This is the first time that – since I was a child – I genuinely want to cry.'_ "Damn." he fell onto the bed as he squashed the thought out of its feeble existence.

"Oh, stop crying and make your next move." Blaise rolled his eyes, looking up briefly from the chess board before him.

Draco huffed indignantly, but picked himself off of Harry's bed and made his way to the chess board that was cautiously balanced at the edge of Blaise's bed. He moved a pawn, effectively taking one of Blaise's knights, but that left his queen open to attack, an opportunity the Italian took advantage of immediately. "Damn, that's another Queen I lose." Draco hissed in irritation as he added the game to the list of things - and people - that were against him.

"_Harry_ can hardly pass for a '_Queen_', besides you can't lose something that you haven't had… I think that falls under people too." Blaise smirked.

"I don't think he was talking about Harry… for once." Ron looked up from his laptop.

"Are you still moaning about losing your game against Ron last month? Boy you have copping issues!" Hazel eyes brightened in amusement as pale cheeks puffed in anger and grey eyes narrowed warningly.

"You are such an arsehole."

"I didn't know Malfoys could use such a colourful language," Harry pushed the door shut with a small snap, effectively calling the attention to himself. "But then I suppose, you're all full of surprises." He smirked, tilting his head to the side.

"Well I like to surprise you." Draco smirked back, turning his body to give all his attention to the raven.

"Oh, well aren't I lucky," Harry laughed out gently, but didn't give Draco time to reply as he walked into his bathroom and snapped the door shut, the lock clicking into place.

"Well, that was… friendly." Blaise let his eyes wander from the chessboard to look at the frowning blonde. "Yet, you are far from pleased."

"_Pleased_, how can I be pleased? This is the third time that he has been pleasant to me within the entire four weeks. The only time that he looks at me, like I am not scum, is the time he comes back from heaven knows where. It only proves that what ever it is that he is doing obviously _pleases_ him enough to be _civil_ to me. Damn him!" His face fell forward into his hands, rubbing at his tired eyes - tired of fighting to keep the tears in.

"Don't slouch, Dear. It's very unbecoming." Pansy walked into the room, leaving the door open for Hermione, who followed in a few seconds later.

"Potter," Ron called out as though the simple word explained everything, and it did, for Pansy and Hermione pressed their lips into a thin line in understanding.

"Did I hear my name?" Harry walked out once more, Draco snapping into a perfect seating pose.

"Oh," Hermione twisted around so fast, she was sure she could have caused whip slash. Pansy was a little more composed as she turned, her eyes widening momentarily.

"Hey girls," He smiled before walking out, closing the door that Hermione had left open.

"See what I mean, he was even nice to Pansy." Draco whined.

"Hey, I take offence to that, Malfoy!" Pansy scowled.

"Technically, he just acknowledged the girls. But I do see what you mean." Blaise sat up, effectively breaking up the fight before it began. "But that doesn't mean that you have to cry your eyes out or sulk all day, and yes, you do cry and sulk." Blaise rolled his eyes, Draco clamping his mouth shut, his argument lost. "What we need to do is find out what it is that he does." He smirked.

"What - interrogate him?" Pansy looked up, already imagining the torturing techniques.

"No, I was thinking along the lines of seeing for ourselves where it is that he goes to."

"So… stalk him," Hermione deadpanned.

"No, I would call it constructive observation," Blaise lifted his chin, narrowing his eyes on the brunette, but maintaining the look of arrogance.

"Spying," Hermione nodded again, ignoring the cold look that the Italian sent her way.

"Ok, when?" Draco sat up.

"Next weekend," Blaise smirked, Hermione rolled her eyes and Pansy beamed.

"Did it ever occur to you that Potter is most likely going off somewhere to shag his _girlfriend_?" Ron's inane voice spoke up.

"You are so evil," Draco pouted. "I would have rather refrained myself from remembering that small detail."

"It's hardly a small detail; Potter is dating one of the most wanted teachers in Hogwarts." Hermione agreed.

"Gryffindor conspirators, I hate thee." Draco stood up, sending narrowed dirty-looks in the direction of the two friends, before walking out.

"That went well." Ron smiled, Blaise re-rolled his eyes and Pansy laughed.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"You are unbelievable; you are seriously going to go through with this!" Hermione whispered harshly as she watched Draco and Blaise search his wardrobe for suitable 'spy' wear.

"You do realise that he is going to hate you if he finds out about this, don't you?" Ron called from his place on his bed, his eyes trained on a book once again. Draco looked up, a look of sudden apprehension and fear passing his features.

"What, you mean hate him more than he already does? " Blaise smirked helpfully.

"You have no idea if he hates Draco or not?" Hermione chastised hotly.

"What, can't you tell?" Blaise let his eyes look away from the pants that he was holding up, his face a mask of disbelieving astonishment.

Draco shot him a dirty look

"Oh stop it Zabini, you're not helping!"

"But Mione, he's so fun to tease! It's like bullying Pansy, but ten times better." Blaise whined, flailing his arms childishly.

"You've never bullied Draco before." Hermione frowned.

"Yes, true… but that was before I found out that he had a thing for mysterious-pretty-dark-haired boys." Blaise smirked, before holding his hands behind his back and digging the toe of his shoe on the floor.

"Where do you come up with these things?"

"I have a lot of time in my hands." Blaise beamed, clapping his hands in triumph.

"Heavens!" Hermione breathed out, her hands falling in defeat as she mumbled something about 'stupidity' and 'being contagious' before walking out of the room and leaving the boys to their own devices.

"Do you really think he will hate me… more?" Draco looked at Ron.

Ron looked up, his eyes thoughtful. "I'm sure you can move around easily without being detected." He smiled.

"See, the beautiful man has spoken. Ow!"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to go." Theo shrugged easily, his words low.

"Why not?"

"Because Vernon is back and the last thing we need is him being a pompous bastard tomorrow." Winter pulled back from her wardrobe.

"Vernon is always a pompous bastard," Harry deadpanned, his eyebrow lifting slightly.

"That is true, but he is more so when you're around." Winter shot back.

"If I'm there, there is less of a chance that he will go after the amateurs."

"Stop being a martyr, you cannot save everyone!" Winter shouted.

"I'm sorry,"

Winter breathed out, rubbing at her eyes tiredly. "No, I'm sorry. I just don't want you to get hurt. I'm scared that being the most prized star is not always going to keep you safe. I'm just scared that tonight might be it and he would hurt you."

"He can't hurt me, I have you and he knows better than to cross you." Harry smiled gently, bringing the loud girl into his arms and wiping her tears with the back of his thumb, careful not to smear her make-up.

"Fine, but try and stay out of his way." Winter pulled away brushing at her cheeks hastily as she buried her face in the shadows of her wardrobe.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Blaise, stop it." Draco whispered loudly.

"But Draikee-pooh, I'm bored." The Italian pouted prettily.

"You are hopeless," Draco scowled.

"I'm hopeless? You're hopeless. I mean really, I can't believe we're here, cold, lonely, bored… waiting for _him_ to come out. What if he doesn't come out? Oh God,"

"This was your idea!" Draco all but shouted.

"Well you should know better that to listen to me!"

"I am going to kill you."

"Oh look, here they come!" Blaise clapped cheerfully.

"Heavens," The blonde shook his head. "Ok, let's get back to the car."

Slowly the two moved towards the car that was parked neatly behind a few trees that hid the path that forked away from Hogwarts.

"Do you think that they will continue on the carriage to their destination or do you think that they will change to something… faster?" Blaise whispered as Draco ignited the engine, letting it warm up a little before driving out slowly, giving the carriage time to get a slightly ahead of them.

"It depends on their destination." Draco answered, accelerating a little bit at a time.

"K," Blaise nodded.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The drive to the club was two hours. Two hours in which Harry slept, Theo read, Moon drew and Winter kept an eye on their tail. Normally the four would ride their motorbikes to the club but as the three youngest members were coming up to their first year with a driving permit, they didn't want to risk accidents, and as the weather was being less than favourable, they decided to be lazy.

"Green Eyes, wake up we're here." Winter called out gently as the car began to slow down. Harry shifted slowly, scrunching up his nose in distaste but obeying the call.

"I am never getting used to a car, no matter how short the ride." He moaned gently, as though not to disturbed the head ache that was threatening to arise.

"We're late. We should take the backdoor." Theo pointed out as he looked away from his window and locked eyes with Winter.

"I'll get off here! I need to talk to Tai in any case." Winter called out to the driver before speaking to the other three, although an explanation was not required.

Theo nodded gently, Harry quirked an eyebrow in respond and Moon lifted her chin slightly. Winter nodded once more and opened the door just before the car stopped moving completely. "Are you not forgetting something?" Moon spoke up; Winter looked in her direction before smiling.

"How could I possibly forget?" Her hands pulled her jacked open and then her fingers slid into an inside pocket. A mask was pulled out then neatly pulled over her eyes. "I'll see you inside." She whispered before stepping out and closing the door quietly.

The car rode off and Winter looked up in time to see Draco and Blaise park a few meters away on the other side of the road. She turned away and moved up to the queue that was outside the club. Without a pause she moved past the waiting people, taking note of two of the partygoers that were closest to the doors.

"Hey, we were here before you, no cutting!" A girl, a few inches taller than her and slightly more curvaceous, but not necessarily more refined, called out.

Winter stopped, her face turning slight to consider the girl. White strands of hair with blue tinted tips, hanged loosely over her simple black eye-mask and her red lips lifted at the side to form a small smirk. "Your point is…?" Her eyebrow rose, arching perfectly above the shadow that was created due to the mask. The girl took a step back but her face twisted into a scowl. "Tai-san, watch this one; if she causes problems… kick her out." Winter let her smirk widen as her eyes continued to look at the girl as said girl gasped slightly at her words.

The guard, that had only stood in Winter's line of view stepped out and nodded. "Yes, Lady Winter."

"Doll, How are you?" Winter moved forward, sending one last look at the girl before smiling gently at the bigger man. He smiled in response, bending down to receive the kiss that she easily planted on his cheek.

"I've been ok, I must say you're rather late today… you usually come before the crowds have even began to form."

"Oh, yes, just a bit of a problem, nothing to worry about."

"I take it that is why the others are not here."

"No, they went around the back, but that's why I'm here. I need to enforce tonight that unless they have masks, there is no entry. Understood?" Winter looked back to the two unmasked guests that stood near the front of the queue.

Tai nodded his understanding, his eyes following Winter's gaze. Winter looked at him once more with a smile, knowing that he didn't like to cause problem, and problems usually came when he had to refuse entry.

"May I ask - do you two have your masks?" Winter called out softly. The two friends froze momentarily, fear clouding their eyes before they nodded their heads slowly. Winter lifted an eyebrow slowly as the crowd fell quiet, but her eyes didn't leave the two unmasked partygoers. A few seconds passed before the two friends understood what she was asking through her silence, and they pulled out their masks from their bags, putting them on and facing the girl once more.

"Good, I don't want to remind you that this is a masked club and no masks, means that there is no entry. If I hear of any trouble," Her eyes landed on the girl at the head of the queue. "You will be faced with more trouble that you will ever need." With that she turned, pecked Tai on the cheek and proceeded to walk into the club.

"Who is she - the _Boss_?" The girl at the front rolled her eyes.

"No, the boss is a male. But the Lady can still make your life a living hell." Tai answered, as he shifted from his shadow and reminded them that he was still there. The crowd fell silent, afraid to say anything that would cause problems.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Did they just go in there?"

"_Winter, _just went in there." Draco corrected with a roll of his eyes.

"So… they just went in there?" Blaise persisted.

"I suppose so, I don't know." Draco snapped back, already making his way out of the car. They has been waiting to see what Winter did after she got off her limousine without her company, and after a few minutes of what seemed like an argument, she entered the club.

Blaise followed as Draco walked up the crowd, "Do you think we need to wear masks?"

"I don't know but it certainly looks like it." Draco looked at the people closest to him, their masks ranging from simple to posh to amusing and to over the top.

"Er, Drake, there's a queue!" Blaise called out as the blonde began to move forward, ignoring the hisses and dirty looks that he was receiving from the waiting line.

"What is this, 'Royalty Night'?" The girl at the front of the queue snapped as Draco and an apologising Blaise walked in front of her. Draco turned to her, his grey eyes cold, his eyebrow quirking in question.

"Can I help you?" Tai walked out of the door.

"Yes, I was wondering, to enter the club, is it absolutely necessary that we have masks?" Draco looked at the man, his voice a timber of sophistication.

"Yes sir, you must have a mask, and unfortunately if you don't have one, you cannot enter." Tai replied quickly.

"I see," Draco nodded gently.

"I wish Winter would have told us that instead of having to drive for two hours for nothing." Blaise crossed in arms snappily, looking away.

"You know Lady Winter?" Tai let his eyes brighten.

"Yes, we know Winter… apart from the Lady part." Blaise laughed good-naturedly.

"Oh, so now they get to go in because they know _Lady_ Winter." The girl snapped.

"Excuse me?" Blaise turned to look at her, his eyebrows coming into a frown.

"We're leaving; I would not want to put you in a bad position. Rules are rules and they are there for a reason. Thank you for your help." Draco smiled at the bouncer and turned to leave, his eyes narrowing as Blaise opened his mouth to argue.

"Yeah, don't forget the masks next time, and learn to wait at a line!" The girl snapped as the two began to move out of the crowd.

Draco stopped, his shoulders squaring and his eyes narrowing down dangerously. Slowly he turned to look at the girl and in a few steps they were nose to nose, without a thought, he brought his hand out and grabbed her by the jaw, his thumb and forefinger pressing into her skin as he pushed her face to look up at him. "I don't know who you are, but I suggest that you learn how to control that tongue of yours unless you want it cut out of your pretty little mouth." With that he let her go and walked up to join Blaise.

"If that bouncer tells Winter that he saw us, she will know that we followed them." Draco spoke up once they were back on the road.

"Yes, but that little stunt you just pulled might have called more attention than me announcing that we know _Lady_ Winter." Blaise retorted.

"There's only one way to find that out… and that will have to wait until Monday morning."

AN:

Hey Guys, I'm sorry to do this to you but I will have to make you wait a bit for the next chapter as I have my Uni Exams for the next three weeks and I'm going to be stuck in the books for some time. Sorry once again and thank you for your support. ­


	8. Dreams

Chapter Eight

_Dreams_

"What was the name of the club again?"

"Masquerade, why?" Blaise looked up from his book.

"Because I cannot find any information about it; there are some forums and comments on how great it is, but it says nothing on what the club is really about." Hermione double clicked on her mouse.

"Well, it's a club, what else do clubs have but alcohol and music?" Blaise picked himself up from his lying position and moved over to Hermione so that he could read over her shoulder – or more likely to look at the pictures.

"There are clubs that more than just provide alcohol and a dance floor. They are also restaurants, hotels and such."

"So you think that Masquerade is something like that? You really think that Potter and Winter are going to a disguised hotel, two hours away just to shag?" Blaise let his eyebrow rise in surprise, but his question was ignored as Hermione continued to search through the Internet.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Harry," Harry lifted his arm from his eyes and turned his face to look at the blonde.

"What is it?" Harry placed his arm across his eyes again, twisting slightly to make himself more comfortable on his bed.

"Could I ask you a question?" Draco pushed away from the door and moved closer to the foot of Harry's bed.

"You just did, but I'll be nice enough to let you ask me one more." Harry looked through the gap between his face and his arm.

Draco rolled his eyes, biting his lip to keep from laughing. "Would it be ok if I slept with you…? I mean, in your bed with you not, not… not have sex." Pale cheeks burned a bright red as grey eyes turned to look at the floor.

Harry laughed, sitting up as he gave up on getting a few minutes of rest. "Are Zabini and Weasley keeping you up?"

"Something like that." Draco's blush intensified.

"I never thought of you as the coy type." Harry laughed again.

"Oh, what type did you think me to be?" Grey eyes looked up.

"Arrogant, know it all, cold… should I go on?"

"No, I think I get the picture." Draco looked away, unsuccessfully hiding his hurt.

"You may sleep with me. Chances of me sleeping in my bed all week are slim so you'll get the bed to yourself most of the time… and don't look so disappointed, we're not having sex, remember?" Harry fell back on his bed. "It was you, after all, that said we weren't having sex, just sleeping in the same bed."

"Would you have had sex with me if I asked you?"

Harry pushed his arm away from his eyes but not from his face. His eyes were hooded slightly as he considered the blonde for a few seconds. "You said one question, you're time's up." He covered his eyes again.

"Just answer the question," Draco snapped nervously.

The silence stretched for a few minutes as Harry remained motionless. Draco bit his lip unsure of what to do, wanting to shake the smaller man but not having the nerve. He moved towards the door certain that Harry must have fallen asleep. He reached the door and opened it slightly, pausing to look back at the raven. "No, I don't think I would have slept with you." Harry turned to lock their eyes before closing his eyes again.

Draco nodded, his mask falling over his face as he walked out and closed the door. He crossed to the door opposite and walked in, making his way to his bed and falling heavily. Only then did he let his mask slip and his lip quivered.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"_I know that you care about the little Phoenix but you better stay away from him, for both his sake and yours."_

"_Is that a threat?!"_

"_No, just friendly advice… you hurt him – you die."_

Draco shook his head. He was so confused that the confusion itself baffled him. He had expected to hear from Winter at any point within the past week, but she never approached him in any way or form, she never even looked in his direction.

Thursday afternoon found him in the company of none other than the silent member of the 'Perfect Four'; as Draco and Moon sat across from each other, reading their corresponding book in the library's quiet area; Draco couldn't help looking up and admiring the fact that Harry did indeed have beautiful friends.

'_Nothing less for such a beauty as his dark self, of course,'_ Draco mused as a sliver of pale hair fell across the half hooded magenta eyes.

Lost within those thoughts, he left the library some time later, not realising that he had a second shadow, until said shadow pushed him against a wall of a conveniently empty corridor. Shaking his head out of the haze he lapsed into after his initial shock, Draco looked down at his attacker and realised that piercing magenta eyes were watching him expectedly, almost as if those very depth of shimmering colour within the irises could read every ounce of his being.

Nothing was said between the two for a few minutes as they sized each other up, Draco realising that the fragile little madam that stood before him was anything but weak. Once Sapphires seemed to be satisfied with her analysis, she pushed away and let her hand fall away from his shoulder. "Watch yourself Mr Malfoy, tis not wise to make an enemy out of me." With those words, whispered in husky sexuality but underlined with warning, the youngest member of the group nodded her head once before walking away. Her heels ghosted over the stone floor as she effortlessly walked away without so much as a sound, and disappeared around the corner.

Now, Friday evening, as he waited for Blaise to come out of his bedroom so that they could make their way to the club, Draco couldn't help but let his head reel back to that encounter with Sapphires, and then to the later encounter with the mysterious Theodore Nott, in which the brunette advised him,_ oh so amiably, _to stay away from Harry. But neither encounters bothered him as much as the fact that Winter was no where to be seen – by him. She never approached him or indicated any reason to want to approach him; that alone unnerved him so much that he was rethinking the idea of _spying_ on the raven.

"Ready to go?" Draco nodded as he broke from his train of thoughts.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

They arrived at the club a little after eleven; much later than Draco would have liked, but the blonde instantly forgot his displeasure as he got lost in the sea of masks, the moment he walked through the veiled entrance. He would have lost Blaise if not for the fact that the Italian wisely grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the mass of costumed bodies over to a stool by the black all around oval bar.

In no sense of the word, did the club suggested rebellion or primitiveness. Quite the opposite in fact: it was breathtaking and the blonde could do little else but take in the view with nothing but awe. He knew beauty, he knew perfection, he knew riches but this was beyond exquisite and enchanting. The entire space was a mixture of deep reds, blacks and whites with shards of silver here and there. Glittery curtains of blacks, whites and silvers covered entrances and hidden corners. The bar stood in the centre, a master piece in its own right, washed entirely of back except for the alcoholic bottles that were pulled out of black cupboards for the customers. A stage stood to the back of the room and that also stood in silent black, with deep-blood-red great curtains on the background. There were small round tables dotted at either side of the bar, spaced out in accordance and style; the tables were covered in a large black tablecloth and a smaller red veil to finish it off. Like the chairs and the tables, the leather sofas that disappeared in the shadows were black too and the dark marble floor was littered in glittery speckles, giving over the illusion of walking over the midnight sky.

"He has beautiful friends and good taste in chill-out venues. I'm starting to see why you like Potter so much." Blaise nodded as his eyes, too, wandered across the large extent. The blonde nodded dumbly before shaking his head as he registered what Blaise said, within the second his eyes swept over the room again but this time looking for Harry or Winter but he could see neither them nor Nott and Moon.

Draco walked across the room to look at one hardly concealed arch which he found led to the dance floor. He had been in Masquerade for a little over half an hour and as of yet he had seen no one that he recognised – due to the masks and need to overdress – there had been one man without any required garments and Draco took a slow scrutiny of the beefy man, wondering briefly if he was the boss – he certainly behaved so.

"They have a show?" Blaise pulled the blonde back from the arch and towards the bar as he tugged in childish excitement.

"What?" Draco frowned in confusion but followed the Italian nonetheless.

"What I said, they have a show… that kid just pulled out a mike so there must be something going on." Blaise bounced on his stool as he stretched his head and tried to look behind the curtains although it was physically impossible from where he stood.

"Calm down, they could just be making an announcement." Draco batted the brunette.

Blaise turned to retort but his comment was cut short as a shy 'hello' resounded across the rotund stage, and Blaise turned his hazel eyes to the stage in expectance.

A girl, no more than 16 years of age, if her voice and height gave anything away, stood in the centre of the stage, her face behind the pretty pink mask must have be blushing as she tried to hide behind the silver microphone. "We all know that I don't do the announcements but Yukiko thought it would be good practise... and a good laugh." She whispered to herself at the end, getting a few chuckles from the crowd. "Anyways… I mean, without further ado – Midori!" She shouted the name as she took one step back and waved her hand to the opening curtains. All the lights fell at once and there were a few collected gasps of surprise and wonder.

Draco frowned in confusion, not knowing what to do but refusing to move from his seat in case he lost an overexcited Blaise. Slowly, the lights around the stage began to blush, leaving a soft glow across the blackened floor and a wisp of lightened mist to rise around the sole figure that now stood behind the mike.

The gentle timber of the piano's chant began and the masked figure let his gloved fingers trace up the length of the microphone before his voice whispered into song:

_Round, like a circle in a spiral  
Like a wheel within a wheel.  
Never ending or beginning,  
On an ever spinning wheel  
Like a snowball down a mountain  
Or a carnival balloon  
Like a carousel that's turning  
Running rings around the moon _

Like a clock whose hands are sweeping  
Past the minutes on it's face  
And the world is like an apple  
Whirling silently in space  
Like the circles that you find  
In the windmills of your mind

Like a tunnel that you follow  
To a tunnel of it's own  
Down a hollow to a cavern  
Where the sun has never shone  
Like a door that keeps revolving  
In a half forgotten dream  
Or the ripples from a pebble  
Someone tosses in a stream.

Like a clock whose hands are sweeping  
Past the minutes on it's face  
And the world is like an apple  
Whirling silently in space  
Like the circles that you find  
In the windmills of your mind

Keys that jingle in your pocket  
Words that jangle your head  
Why did summer go so quickly  
Was it something that I said  
Lovers walking along the shore,  
Leave their footprints in the sand  
Was the sound of distant drumming  
Just the fingers of your hand

Pictures hanging in a hallway  
And a fragment of this song  
Half remembered names and faces  
But to whom do they belong  
When you knew that it was over  
Were you suddenly aware  
That the autumn leaves were turning  
To the colour of her hair

Like a circle in a spiral  
Like a wheel within a wheel  
Never ending or beginning,  
On an ever spinning wheel  
As the images unwind  
Like the circle that you find  
In the windmills of your mind

Draco couldn't find his breath as the voice lulled to a stop and the piano continued to play the last notes of the enchantment.

The man was dressed in a French costume of the late King Louis XIV, the colour of the dress was a deep royal blue and the mask that covered the entirety of his face, except for his lips, was a shade lighter; and the entire time the blonde could only think was how fitting the costume was.

"He reminds me of someone…" Blaise mused out loud as the singer made his way of the stage with a flourishing bow.

"King Louis," Draco provided in a half whisper.

"No someone else." Blaise turned back to the bar and nodded to the bartender.

"Louis," Draco nodded again, his voice leaving little room for arguments.

Blaise nodded in agreement, not wanting to have an irate blonde on his hands, but his mind still worked on the puzzling enchanter.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Harry smiled as the song reached the end and the crowd burst into praise. He bowed, stepping back and through the curtain, turning around only once he was completely out of the view of the customers.

"Great show Green Eyes, I'm sure lover boy loved it just as much as everyone else… if not more." Winter laughed, pouting her lips in a kissing notion.

"You noticed him too?" Harry lifted his eyebrow, choosing to ignore Winter's antics.

"Of course, there is nothing that can fool this perfection. I'm not just a pretty face." She lifted her head in pride, her lips laughing gently.

"Nothing passes Winter but common sense," Moon deadpanned, stopping long enough to insult the older girl before she resumed her walk to the stage.

"Moon, that was uncalled for," Winter called back, glad that the band was playing loud enough to drown her voice outside of the curtains.

"Yes, it was… but you're no denying it." Moon looked back and winked, her lips lifting into a rare smirk, made to make Winter proud.

"The student surpasses the teacher… nice," Theo said lifting his eyebrow in careful contemplation.

"She hasn't surpassed me yet, child, and stop siding with her!"

"Now, Winter, what have we said about stress… its bad for your blood pressure." Harry waved his hands in calming notions before turning in his heels and jumping away from Winter's claws.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**AN:** "The Windmills of Your Mind" sang by All Angels

For future reference on later chapters, the _Italics_ and the **Bold** will be songs… the Singer will be announced on said chapter.

Also, in case it was not clear, "Midori" is Harry's stage name.

And a final Note, Miki pointed out that it may not be clear why Draco has to sleep with Harry, when he can use Blaise's bed. That reason was given in Chapter 6 and there is also the fact that Draco wants to get close to Harry. But you guys knew that, right?


	9. Miss Miss

Chapter Nine

_Miss Miss_

He hummed as his footsteps echoed against the darkness of the corridor. It was past curfew, but he didn't much care. He couldn't sleep in any case; he had tried doing unfinished homework then tried reading, but he couldn't stay still for long. He decided to take his pondering to the fresh air, not taking comfort in the shallow snoring of his Italian roommate - feeling too exposed since the other dark haired man began to looking at him as though he was a particularly hard chess board that he was trying to decipher.

Draco, too, had began acting different; he had subsided around Harry since the day that he had seen Midori perform two week prior, and Harry silently wondered if the Malfoy heir had figured that Midori and _he_ were one and the same. He doubted it; Draco was smart but he was also surprisingly impulsive when it came to the green eyed Gryffindor. Harry smiled at the thought. No, if Draco knew, he would have said something by now. Blaise, however, was an entirely different ball game. if the Italian didn't know he would soon enough, and that worried Harry. That worried Harry way more than it should.

"Don't frown; you'll get stress lines on your face."

"Not you too, Moon. I have enough nagging from Winter, as it is," Harry laughed but let his face relax nonetheless.

Moon smiled gently as she joined the taller youth on his walk. Her presence was somewhat ethereal, but Harry only seemed to relax all the more as they remained silent.

"I take it that you're wondering what to do about Zabini?" She whispered into the air.

"Yes, more or less that little point. I mean I shouldn't really. In truth, what difference would it really make if they knew who we are outside of school - but it still worries me." Harry stopped walking and looked out towards the courtyard.

"What, you're not worried that they will find out who we are - our past and our connections?" Moon deadpanned although she didn't mean to sound patronising.

"How can they find that out? No one knows about it but us, and I doubt that _he_ would go blabbing now that his son is getting involved," Harry hissed, his eyes burning.

"The little Dragon can hardly count as being involved. He saw Midori perform and as far as I am concerned that is not a crime. We will _deal_ with any problems - if they present themselves. Zabini can be easily silenced."

"Very well," Harry nodded.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Blaise shot up in bed with a gasp. "Of course-" A hand wrapped around his lips securely, successfully cutting the words that he was going to whisper.

"Now Zabini, be a good boy and stay very, very quiet," The voice hissed gently behind his ear, the hot breath ticking the golden-brown baby hairs at the side of his neck. Slowly he nodded in acceptance before he felt the nimble fingers tracing away from his mouth. "You're a bit of a trouble maker, aren't you, Slytherin?" The shadow smirked as the fingers fell onto the top of the Blaise's arm. "Well, you'll be disappearing for a little while. The time of your absence is, of course, entirely depending on you." With that said, the Italian was none-to-gently pulled out of his bed. His eyes were blindfolded and then he was led out of his bedroom and into silent darkness.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"What's going on?" Draco closed the bedroom door without a sound, his eyes never leaving the pacing redhead.

"Blaise is missing." Ron glanced up momentarily before continuing his quest to dig a trench in the middle of Blaise and Harry's bedroom.

"Are you sure?" Malfoy frowned, allowing his legs to carry him further into the room.

"Yes, he doesn't just disappear without saying anything," Ron shot up.

"When was the last time that you saw him?" Draco stopped a few steps away from the chair that was currently occupied by Hermione.

"Last night. I know for a fact that he went to bed." Ron stopped moving.

"Oh, what did you do, did you tuck him in? How sweet," Harry smirked from his position against the wall, next to the balcony.

"Funny how you haven't said anything 'til now!" Ron swung around, his eyes blazing in anger, his fists clenching and unclenching quickly.

"Nothing to say," Harry shrugged, his eyes cool as he stared back at the redhead.

"You are his roommate, didn't you hear anything?" Ron moved closer, Draco subconsciously doing the same.

"I wasn't in the room last night." Harry tilted his head to the side, as though the question would have been obvious.

"How convenient," Ron spat.

"I stepped out, and he was asleep when I did so. I didn't come back 'til just now." His tone was low; bored, as though he couldn't keep his voice from wondering why he was explaining himself to someone so low.

"Again, oddly convenient," Ron advanced further.

"If he was kidnapped I don't think my being in the room would have made a difference." Harry smirked as Ron recoiled gently at the given option.

"What?"

"Even if I wanted to save you're preciously little _boyfriend_, I don't think that me being in the room would have made a difference. Do you want me to translate it again?

"How can you be certain?" The redhead frowned.

"Oh I don't know…" Harry rolled his eyes to the ceiling at though he was thinking hard, "…because I wasn't the target." He smirked as he met blue eyes again.

"I want to know what happened to Blaise." He was inches away.

"Well, I don't think sacrificing my self for a Slytherin would give you an answer."

"It's the Gryffindor thing to do." Ron whispered harshly.

"Yeah, but I'm no normal Gryffindor," Harry pouted in mock disappointment.

"This still doesn't tell us anything about Blaise." Draco pulled Ron back as the redhead launched himself at the raven.

"He could have just gone for a walk… he has been acting odd lately. Perhaps he just wanted some quiet time." Hermione spoke up, getting a nod of agreement from Draco.

"Yes, away from pesky Gryffindor boyfriends," Harry laughed.

"Again, you're a Gryffindor." Ron shot forward but didn't move close enough to Harry this time, his first attempt to stay calm.

"And Again, I'm fortunate enough to be different." The raven answered slowly, his voice full of amused mirth.

"This is getting us nowhere." Draco breathed out in irritation.

"Tell the Gryffindor that." Harry shot.

"You're a Gryf-" Hermione began.

"I know. I'm starting to regret it." Harry pushed away from the wall.

"Blaise is still missing," Ron pointed out meekly.

"I don't think that begging the kidnapper to '_pwease, take me_' would have made a difference," Another untamed smirk.

"No one said Blaise has been kidnapped." Hermione stood up, frustrated.

"The Gryffindor seems pretty set on it," Harry answered helpfully.

"And you're not deterring him from that thought," Hermione snapped. Draco covered his face with his hands, rubbing his eyes furiously.

"What can I say? It's fun making the Gryffindor cry. It's like ignoring the Slytherin only with 10 times more action." Harry licked his lips lustily, before biting down on the lower lip wantonly, making it swell. Draco gulped.

"You're a bitch," Ron frowned but his voice had no conviction.

"I do try," Harry smiled.

"Potter, stop bullying the children… you could drop to their level." The two Gryffindors and the Slytherin jumped at the new presence's self announcement.

"I was getting bored anyways." The raven shrugged, walking towards Theo.

"You're easily amused." Theo smirked.

"Aren't I always?" He lifted an eyebrow.

"You're also easily distracted from your pleasure," Theo added.

"I would have said that I loose _interest_ rather quickly." Harry reasoned.

"Naturally," The brunette rolled his eyes, following Harry out of the room.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Good morning, sleepy head." The voice chuckled.

"Where am I?!" Blaise shot up, his body slamming forward but not getting far as the restraints holding him to the chair, held him back.

"…Somewhere, don't worry it's a quiet fetching décor – tasteful," Another chuckle.

"Are you having a laugh?" Blaise spat out, his face scrunching up into a scowl under the silken band covering his eyes.

"Should we be?" Another voice questioned, this one was further away, or perhaps it was simply lower.

"What do you mean?" Blaise frowned, his fear forgotten for a moment.

"Should we laugh at your expense?" The first voice questioned instead.

"What do you want from me?" He ignored the question, throwing his own.

"Huh, he's not that bright after all." The voice laughed.

"Slytherins," The second voice huffed out indignantly.

"You are a Slytherin." The first voice pointed out, confused.

"Obviously a better breed," Was the curt respond.

"Is this leading anywhere?" A third voice asked.

"No." The first voice laughed, the seconds presence snorted in teasing amusement.

"How long have you had him here?" The third voice questioned.

"… Fifteen hours…" The first grinned childishly, before silence fell.

"He hasn't recognised you?" Was the bewildered questioned that broke the silence.

"Obviously not, but perhaps his mind is still hazy from sleep." The second voice answered, providing the explanation after a moment's thought.

"Ah, well maybe you should cut down on the pleasantries."

"But we were having fun." The first presence pouted.

"Evidently you were having far too much fun… and your charge was just as easily amused in his encounter with _this one_'s party."

"What is that suppose to mean?" It was the second that asked.

"_This one_'s Gryffindor was in hysterics when he failed to find _him_. The Phoenix got caught in the discussion and found it a good idea to entertain himself."

"He's young." The first shrugged.

"So are we," The second chuckled.

"Really, in what century?"

"Can we just get this over and done with?" The third snapped.

"Of course," The first smiled, moving forward to do as told. "Where is the young Phoenix?" She paused.

"He went to the lake… I didn't understand his reasoning." The third responded, moving further into the room.

"Ok." She smiled, reached out and pulled the silk away.

Blaise blinked as the fold was removed from his eyes. The room was dimly lit, but his eyes still needed adjusting to the sudden light.

"You!" His eyes met the first moving figure as the white haired girl moved back to stand by the window, the silken scarf now wrapped around her wrist.

"Hello to you too, Doll." Winter turned to look at him, her purple eyes laughing lightly.

"What's going on?" His eyes searched out the rest of the room, finding Moon sitting on a black chaise, her delicate frame calling attention as the duchess that she appeared to be - he frowned. He looked again, his mind already assessing who the third was.

Theo stood against the corner, his left leg bend at the knee as his foot was planted firmly on the wall. His stance was much like that of a general.

"Not much is going on. To be quiet frank… it's all rather dull." Winter spoke up, breaking the angry silence, and calling the attention back onto her self.

Blaise watched her for a few minutes, the silence clouding the room. Her movement was swift, calculated yet graceful. "I take it that the_ Young Phoenix_ is Potter."

"Indeed, young master Zabini." Her voice was cold, her mirth was gone, and her eyes lost the mischievous glint. "And you, Slytherin, are causing more trouble than you should - for someone in your status." Her smirk was predatory, dangerous.

Blaise withdrew, his breath freezing half way out of his lips as he watched the older girl's sharp transformation from a carefree teacher to an overprotective merciless guardian.

"It is wise to stay out of business that does not concern you young Zabini heir. We wouldn't want something unfortunately to happen to you… and something might, if you persist on your foolishness." Theo voice was an octal deeper than normal.

"Just know that we would never hesitate to silence you eternally if you prove to be troublesome and dangerous to the young Phoenix." Moon's eyes were chilling.

"On a lighter note, I do hope that you understand our concern, and by saying that, I hope that you will appreciate our efforts and stay quiet." Theo pushed up slightly but didn't move away from the wall.

Blaise nodded gently, comprehension seeping in slowly. "I would be honoured to have you as my guard and my friends. I hope the young Phoenix appreciates you. He is fortunate to have you and you have my vow of silence." He bowed his head once.

"We thank you." Theo smiled.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Have you found him?"

"No my Lord," The young guard whispered, his body bowed at the middle in respect; one arm crossing at his chest and the other laying on his lower back, his eyes downcast.

"Do not return until you do." The voice was cold laced with vicious anger.

"Yes, my Lord." The young one bowed his head lower, before standing up straight and walking out of the office trying to keep his legs from moving _too_ hastily.

A shattered breath left his lips as he fell back on his leathered chair heavily, "Curses!" He spat out venomously before picking himself up, his paper work forgotten.


	10. Indulgent

Chapter Ten

_Indulgent_

"_Soon my Love, soon…"_

xxxx

"Blaise!" Ron shot from the chair and jumped the Italian in two seconds flat.

"Hey, hey, what's the occasion?" The brunette laughed, stumbling back at the sudden force and new acquired weight.

"What happened, where were you?" Ron pulled away, examining the Slytherin from head to toes in quick succession.

"What? What do you mean? What's going on?" Blaise pulled away a little, a slight frown of confusion marring his features.

"What's going on...? '_You'_ is what is going on, Mister." Ron frowned taking long strides backwards and standing in stern disapproval.

"You have completely lost me." Blaise shook his head in confusion, his eyes turning to Hermione and Draco; whom he just notices where also in the room, for help.

"You go missing for an entire day - if not longer - without any trace or even a head's up, and you are wondering what is going on?" Ron threw his hands up in anger before crossing his arms over his chest.

"I went for a walk, I guess I just lost track of time." Blaise shrugged, unsure of what else to say as Ron's face turned a deeper shade of furious red.

"You lost track of time… and what were you doing that was so _interesting_?" The redhead ground out, his voice dripping with murderous intend.

The brunette cringed as he opened his mouth to respond. "I was with Winter and Moon." He took a subconscious step back as the Gryffindor snarled deep in his throat.

"I knew that Potter was involved!" Ron snapped out, his eyes blazing a brilliant blue.

"What has Potter got to do with this?" Blaise asked out, his voice overriding Draco's own defence for the raven.

"You just said that you were with _Winter_ and Moon," Ron snapped back as though that answered everything.

"Yes, I was with _Professor_ Winter and Moon, Potter was never mentioned." Blaise persisted ignoring the dirty look coming from his boyfriend as he made his way to his walk-in wardrobe.

"_Potter_ is friends with Winter and Moon, if you have not forgotten." Ron span around, following his taller boyfriend's movements with narrowed eyes.

"_No,_ I have not _forgotten._ But just because I was with Winter and Moon doesn't mean that Potter or Nott did anything. Besides there is nothing wrong with spending time with a _professor_ and a _student_. It isn't like they were selling me off to slavery or something. We were just talking, or as it were, they were talking about their way of life as performers. It turns out that Winter and Moon have been learning Arts together since they were very young, it's a family thing." Ron deflated tiredly and Blaise winced. "Oh Love, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.

"Love, if I had any idea of what I was doing to you, I would have returned much sooner. It was completely unplanned. I'm sorry. Forgive me?" He pouted, tilting Ron's chin up so that their eyes met. "Love you."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"So, what were you playing at?" The comment was casual, but the look promised pain.

"What on earth are you talking about, Green Eyes?" Winter turned away from the mirror, her face a perfect picture of innocence, her hands pausing above her head, where they had been arranging the high ponytail hair-do.

"Do not play games with me, Winter. I know you better than that." He added a little more force in his voice.

"Oh, you are so dull. I just wanted a little bit of fun. No harm done. The little Zabini heir is back with his little lion and the mini snakes." Winter grinned wickedly, shrugging off the dumb-game.

"What part of _stay away from them_, did you not understand?" Harry stood up, taking the few steps that closed the distance between the two of them.

"Now, now, Harry, you said and I quote '_stay away from him'_, you did not say anything about his little friends. We had also agreed that you would try and befriend the little Gryffindors, now I think the Slytherins would make a cosy addition, don't you agree?" Purple eyes turned to give the raven their full attention.

"No! I will have nothing to do with Malfoy, and neither will you. That includes his friends." Harry growled, his hands clenching at his sides, his eyes burning in anger.

"Harry James Potter, I will not tolerate this childish stupidity. I suggest that you behave accordingly or so help me, because I do not care if I'm your guardian, I will put you in your place. It is low, dirty and just down right mean to blame Draco for his father's mistakes." The last few words where whispered, the anger still lingering behind purple eyes, and Winter looked up her charge.

"Just as unfair as it is that Riddle loaded me with my parents' problems?" Harry spat out, sneering venomously.

"Do not sink down to that _thing's_ level. He is not worth it, and you are much better than that." Winter snarled. "I also suggest that you show your parents a little more respect.

They did nothing to deserve this _display._" She turned away, ignoring the reprimanded Gryffindor as he opened his mouth to speak.

He growled, turning away and walking to the door. "Stay away from Malfoy." He shot over his shoulder, banging the door close behind him.

"As you say," Winter breathed out tiredly, turning to look at the door. "Little Master."

"What was that all about?" Theo approached the oldest of their group.

"Our little prince has friendship problems." Winter turned to the ever-together duo, a grin on her face. "Nothing to worry your pretty little heads over," She smiled again before turning to the mirror and rearranging the cascading bangs of white hair.

"Why does that worry me more," Moon looked at Winter through the mirror's reflection, their eyes meeting briefly.

Winter turned around, satisfied with her hair. "Because my dear Crescent, you love to contradict me." She tilted her head, in a semi challenge.

"It's not so much the _thrill_ of contradicting you, its more along the lines of _knowing_ that trouble has a tendency to follow you… no matter where you are." Moon rolled her eyes.

"Hey, trouble follows the little prince around. I follow the prince." Winter grinned.

"It's a never ending cycle, and you know it's futile to argue with nonsense." Theo snapped lightly, ignoring the hurt look that Winter sent his way.

"Really now, no respect for their elders," Winter threw her hands in the air, muttering to herself as she walked away from the other half of the group.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

He sat on the grand piano, pushing back the cover. One by one his fingers began to hit the keys until all the fingers danced across the black and white. Closing his eyes, he waited for the cue to hit, and just as effortlessly, his lips opened and a whispered tune began to ascend, playing with the notes of the piano.

Seems like it was yesterday  
When I saw your face  
You told me how proud you were,  
But I walked away  
If only I knew what I know today  
Ooh, ooh

I would hold you in my arms  
I would take the pain away  
Thank you for all you've done  
Forgive all your mistakes  
There's nothing I wouldn't do  
To hear your voice again  
Sometimes I wanna call you  
But I know you won't be there

Oh, I'm sorry for blaming you  
For everything I just couldn't do  
And I've hurt myself by hurting you

Some days I feel broke inside  
But I won't admit  
Sometimes I just wanna hide  
'Cause it's you I miss  
And it's so hard to say goodbye  
When it comes to this, ooh

Would you tell me I was wrong?  
Would you help understand?  
Are you looking down upon me?  
Are you proud of who I am?

There's nothing I wouldn't do  
To have just one more chance  
To look into your eyes  
And see you looking back

Oh, I'm sorry for blaming you  
For everything I just couldn't do  
And I've hurt myself, oh

If I had just one more day  
I would tell you how much that I've missed you  
Since you've been away  
Ooh, it's dangerous  
It's so out of line  
To try and turn back time

I'm sorry for blaming you  
For everything I just couldn't do  
And I've hurt myself..  
By hurting you

He played the last notes, his breath quivering as he calmed down from the high that the melody brought. His right hand fell away from the white key that played the very last note as his left hand rose tentatively and his finger tips dabbed at his cheek. He pressed his lips together as he looked down at the tear stained fingers.

"The song… the one that you sang that one time when we saw you – there, it was about your Mother, wasn't it?" Blaise whispered into the otherwise empty hall.

Harry turned around in one swift movement, without dislodging himself from the narrow piano bench. "Do you know about my Mother?" His face hid any possible emotion that he could be feeling as he lifted one perfect eyebrow.

"My Mother spoke about… her often. Mother was very fond of your parents – they all were. No one speaks of them much anymore, however. Especially the Malfoys – it hurts them too much – you understand, don't you?" It was a silent plea – the Zabini heir was too proud to plead openly, but he was willing to try.

Sapphires and Theo walked in; their presence silent as they joined Harry by the piano; their greeting short and impersonal.

"So… you want me to sympathise with them?" Harry sneered, the question covering the angry argument that threatened to spill out of his lips.

"No, I suppose I don't. I wouldn't if I was in your position. However, you already feel their pain – or vice versa. At some level… you already sympathise with them.

"You can't hate Draco forever, and you can't hate him for this. He is not even aware of any of it. Lucius refused to say anything about… it all." Blaise shrugged slightly; suddenly nervous. "I'm just saying. Draco is not Lucius... Malfoy is just a name." He smiled sheepishly, – something that he unconsciously picked up from Ron – throwing a hand to the back of his neck and rubbed nervously. "Anyways, I'll be seeing you," He smiled again and turned to walk away, pausing for a second as he turned back to the raven. "That song, just now… It was for you father, wasn't it?" He asked in a half whisper as though not to disturb them, his eyes straying towards Winter – whom had joined them at some un-given time. "I'm sure that he's proud of who you are." He smiled more confident this time, turning away and leaving before anyone could say anything.

Harry let his eyes widen the smallest of fractions as he watched the Italian leave through the double doors, still holding his Slytherin poise regardless of behaving like a complete Gryffindor… or maybe a hopeless Hufflepuff.

"You know he's right," Winter whispered, her voice giving away her smile, although her features were set on far off point.

Harry broke of his own mussing, pushing away from the piano and standing up. "No, he isn't," He growled, with a little more force that he intended.

"Young Phoenix," Winter frowned.

"The Zabini heir is wrong," He snarled, already walking down to the exit. "I don't hate Draco." He whispered loud enough for the other three to hear.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Don't you think that it's a little odd that Blaise turned up after Nott took Potter away?" Pansy mussed to no one in particular, rolling onto her back, her arm shielding her eyes from the glaring sunlight.

Hermione looked up from her book, placing it down on her lap carefully. "What do you mean?" The tree that she rested against, shielded her from the sun, but she still covered her eyes as she looked down at the other girl.

"Well, Nott didn't seem at all fazed by the fact that Blaise was not present… he didn't even question what was happening between Ron and Potter. He just shrugged it all off and took Potter away." Pansy mumbled, the wheels in her head still turning.

"So you thing that Potter did have something to do with Blaise's brief disappearance," She stated more than questioned, moving the book to the safety of her bag and shifting closer to the black haired girl.

"No, I don't think that Potter had anything to do with Blaise's disappearance. I'm pretty positive that he didn't know about it until he turned up and was confronted with a hysterical Ronald. After that, I'm sure that he realised that Blaise must have been with Winter and Moon or at the very least, Winter." She sat up, her thoughts running all over the place as she put everything together. "Nott, on the other hand, must have had something to do with it, and after he picked Potter up, he went back and concluded whatever escapade Winter and Moon pulled." Pansy clapped her hands once, as though to signal the end of the entire scene.

"Right… and Blaise went along with _whatever_ escapade Winter and Moon pulled?" Hermione frowned unconvinced.

"Blaise is your average, high-maintenance, boisterous and healthy Slytherin boy. There must be some sort of incentive in all this." Pansy lifted a thin eyebrow, her eyes rolling to the sky, but after a few moments she concluded that the big-blue was not going to supply the answer. "My brilliance has run out for the day. Ask me again next week." She grinned, picking herself off and dusting her skirt off any grass and dirt.

Hermione rolled eyes in amusement, shaking her head from side to side. "It could be a possibility, it's not _too_ farfetched, but whatever happened, happened. Blaise is safe and everything is back to normal."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Harry let out a suffering breath, dropping onto his bed for a few seconds before sitting back up, on the edge. Rolling his head from side to side, he tried to work the kinks on his shoulders, with little success.

"You look dead," Draco called out gently, a small smile on his lips.

Harry let his eyes open slowly, his head falling forward again as he regarded the blonde whom was leaning against the now closed door. "It's been a trying day," The raven supplied after a second of watching the blonde.

"_That_, it has been." Draco laughed, pushing from the door and closing in on Harry. Without a second thought, he shrugged off his shoes and climbed onto the bed and sat behind the raven. His hands fell on the shoulders, slowly working into the muscles and getting into a quiet rhythm.

Harry let the blonde continue without a protest, his body slowly loosing all tension as it sank into the massage. "Thanks, I needed that."

"No problem," Draco whispered, smiling at the new turn of events. "So," He began, gulping soundlessly as he tried to think of an appropriate thing to say. "What did you do today?" He asked lamely, not wanting to risk anything more personal.

Harry chuckled, pulling away as he stood. He moved towards this wardrobe and pulled out his pyjama bottoms. "Not much, had lessons this morning, found out that Zabini was missing, had a few _words _with your fascinating redhead friend," He chuckled again, not missing the amused snort that came from the blonde. "Went to the lake, met a surprisingly _unharmed_ Zabini and we had a pleasant conversation. Had extra lessons in the evening and now, I'm entertaining you." He ended with a flourished bow, opening the door bathroom door and disappearing into it.

Draco smiled to himself, definitely liking the new turn of events. He dashed out of the room – not forgetting to take his shoes with him, bursting into his own and proceeding into the bathroom to get ready for bed, rightfully ignoring the busy lovebirds.

Harry was sitting in bed, with a book open on his lap, when Draco walked in again. "Perhaps you and Weasley should change room," He laughed, Draco blushing instantly. "You hardly spend much time in your own rooms." He proceeded to explain, looking back down at his book.

"Do you mind… having me here… so much?" Draco asked quietly, his back pressed against the door again, his arms crossing around his chest in defence.

Harry looked up, giving up on his book, his gaze landing on Draco's grey, unguarded eyes. "Come to bed," He presented his hand, palm down as his eyes continued to stare into sad grey orbs. "I don't mind at all." He assured him, offering a small smile.

Draco smiled back, nervously. He pushed away from the door and walked to Harry, afraid that he might make a wrong move. When he reached Harry, he let his hand slip into the raven's smaller, darker and still waiting hand. His smile grew a little more as did his nerve. He turned Harry's hand, bowing down at the middle and kissed the soft palm.

"You are an odd one, Draco Malfoy." Harry smiled, looking back up from their joined hands. "You get uneasy and submissive with me at most times… yet you can be so assertive, so dominant." He shuddered in arousal, his green eyes coming alive as he bit on his lower lip, his tongue darting out quickly to moist and reddened his lips.

Draco breathed out in heated gasps. "Do you like it when I lead?" He moved forward, crawling onto the bed. Harry let his eyes widen in excitement as he sat back, his head nodding once as he bit onto his lower lip again, harder. "Harry, stop me before I make you hate me more." Draco pushed back slightly, his eyes clouding over in hurt.

Harry smiled, leaning forward and kissing Draco on the cheek. "I don't hate you, Draco… and now, I can't even try to hate you." He cupped the pale jaw. "But you're right. We should probably stop. Tonight is not the nigh to… compete with _rabbits_ or Zabini and Weasley, for that matter." He smiled, again, pushing Draco down onto his side of the bed.

Draco turned to look at Harry as the smaller boy leaned over and turned off the lights before resting back on his side of the bed. His grey eyes followed the outline of the moon-covered boy, his smile creeping up again. Slowly, he reached out and pulled Harry into his arms, the raven sliding across the bed easy.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Draco woke up to full arms and nose-ticking dark hair. He snuggled closer to the warm body, protectively, ready to go back to sleep, but the sudden weight of someone's eyes on him made him open his eyes instead.

Blaise stood by the side of Harry's side of the bed. "I suppose he doesn't hate you as much as we though." He whispered. "Don't worry; no one else has been inside. Ron was freaking out over… something, and the girls went straight down to breakfast." He smiled. "I'm usually the one that comes to get you, but you're normally on your own, or _you_ are somewhat closer to Harry's side of the bed, when he is still in bed. This is new."

"When did he become 'Harry', to you?" Draco asked as gently as he could.

"It's hard to call him by his surname, when you guys make such a pleasant picture." Blaise laughed, disturbing Harry, as the dark-haired boy frowned and moved closer to Draco. The blonde frowned in irritation, sending the Italian a reproachful look. Blaise shrunk back in apology before sobering up. "He is gorgeous though - perfect and beautiful - I see why you love him so much." He nodded, but stopped all else as Draco lifted onto his arm slightly and looked down at the smaller bundle in his arms.

"I think I'm falling in love again." He looked up, his eyes clouding slightly as he offered his best friend a smile, before looking down at Harry again and tracing his finger tips over the olive skin.

"That's all he wants."


	11. The Hunt

Chapter Eleven

_The Hunt_

"What do you mean that you cannot find him?!" Lucius lifted his voice, an octal, in anger. For it was unsightly for a man of his status to loose his demeanour on the face of... others. "This is beyond unacceptable - you understand this, do you not?" Light blue eyes narrowed to storm-darkness as he singled down on each of his spies, one at a time. "He cannot possibly know that I am looking for him, therefore he should not be so easily eluding you." He leaned back again, resting back against his leather seat, suddenly weary. "You will find him, or you will pay for the consequences of my disappointment." His voice dripped with venomous promises of slow and excruciating pain. Lifting a hand, he dismissed them. The four young police officers walked to the high double-doors; trying to look as collected as possible whilst trying to make their exit as hasty as allowed.

Turning his seat to face the vast expanse of land outside his ample balcony window, Lucius let out a long breath, more worried than annoyed. Yes, _power_ had its perks... indeed many perks, however small. But power, fortunately – or unfortunately - depending on how you see things, is not everything. His patience was lacking and he needed to find the fool before something happened... against his favour, but more importantly, against the heirs' favour.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"--For you,"

"What?"

"Oh, for Heaven's sake child, pay attention will you. This letter, it's for you." Petunia held out the thin, pure-white elegant envelope.

Harry frowned in confusion before taking the delicate sachet. "Thank you." He smiled gently, holding his aunt's gaze for a little longer than necessary before turning his eyes back to the letter that he held between two fingers and his thumb. His grimace reappeared and deepened as he saw the elegant golden 'M' monogram on the right hand corner.

"You frown any more and those lines will stick to your face forever," Winter chuckled, breaking Harry's mussing as he brought his head up sharply to see who interrupted his thoughts, before his mind caught up with the familiarity.

He grunted, as his eyes met the joyful purple eyes of his guardian. He signed tiredly, not ready to face the girl's attitude and presence.

"Well, hello to you too, nice to know that I'm loved... What is it? Did I disrupt a moment there? A secret love letter, of sorts?" She smirked, but backed down slightly as she watched green eyes darken defensively.

"It's nothing." Harry shrugged offhandedly, flipping the letter carelessly and letting it drop on the floor.

"Doesn't look like 'nothing', to me," Winter lifted a confused eyebrow, already bowing down 

gracefully and slipping her fingers under the envelope and picking it up. "Oh, it's from the Lord... He never communicates with you; perhaps it's of_ great_ importance?" She moved forward, letting her hand extend and offering the small package back.

"I do not care and I do not want anything to do with _it_ or with_ him_." Harry shot, his voice a silent yet firm whisper.

"I would say that that is rather foolish of you, child. You should heed good warnings and put petty dissension aside." Winter flipped her hair out of her vision, yet her tone was anything but serious.

"_Dissension_," Harry turned, spitting the word as though the mere idea was insulting the strength behind the entity of his feelings. "I do not simply have a plain dissension with the man. I revile _him_ with my entire being - Mind, Body and Soul!" He punctuated the words with a cold fury, his eyes ablaze, his lips twisted in a sickening snarl.

"Oh, must you be so overdramatic... I will not bow down to your childishness - you know that, do you not?" It wasn't really a question, but Winter waited with a raised brow, very much expecting an answer.

He huffed, his eyes never deeming an ounce of his anger, but his offensive stance fell back into an uptight, defensive stand.

"Very well, if you don't want to know what the _Lord _has to say," She pronounced the title with a tilt of her head as she wordlessly commanded respect for the absent man. "Then I shall have to find out for you, and you will not leave." She halted any attempt of the younger man's departure as he moved a fraction to turn his back on her. He huffed again, but didn't go.

Agile pale fingers slipped a small stylish little blade and run into under the fold of the envelope, opening it with not so much as a whisper. Neatly, she slipped out the carefully folded message, written on perfectly cream paper. Purple orbs skimmed over the short note, fingers rising to cover her lips as a small quiet gasp of surprise slipped out.

Harry frowned; unfolding his arms as he carefully took in all of her responses.

"Wormtail is on the loose... seems his latest task has now began, now that you will become of age." But the words didn't come from Winter as both purple and green eyes turned to the new presence in the small corner of the room.

"How do you know this?" Harry whispered.

"I was with the Lord when he wrote the message." Theo nodded to the letter that rested limply from between Winter's fingers.

"He's been released?" Harry chocked out, unbelieving.

"It was never confirmed that he was ever caught. He just disappeared..." Winter let her words trail, the rest of her thoughts were needless to be said out loud, in any case.

"What do we do?" The question was shaky.

"Nothing, the Lord is taking care of it." Theo spoke with finality.

"Like he...?" But Harry didn't finish his question, he couldn't. Wouldn't.

"He'll take care of it." Theo repeated again._ 'And if He fails, we'll be there.'_ were the unspoken words of assurance that fell heavy on the air.

Harry nodded, not wanting to continue the conversation. He swallowed, letting his eyes fall close before letting them flutter open with a new hard glint in them, giving nothing away. "Very well, we have a job to do."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Your father wants to see you?" Blaise let an eyebrow rise in surprise.

Draco turned around, a worried frown marring his pale features. "That is what the missive stated."

Ron run a hand across his face, a tired yet restless gesture, which he rarely showed unless he was truly anxious. "What do you think has happened?"

"Why would it necessarily mean that something is wrong every time that Mr. Malfoy contacts his son?" Hermione frowned, only half listening to the conversation, having just arrived to join the small group on the grounds by the lake.

"Because this is Lucius Malfoy that we're talking about," Blaise answered as though the name alone was ample reason, in which case he was right. "He will not be disturbing Draco's studies for any petty little reason, and you know that it would take a hell of a lot to make anything worthy enough to be deemed important by _Lucius Malfoy_."

"Did he specify that you will have to be there immediately?" Hermione turned to Draco, ignoring the sarcasm that was only slightly underlined in Blaise's speech.

Draco shook his head 'no'. He was still lost in thought.

"Then there is no problem, you will just go and see your father this weekend and that is that." Hermione shrugged off, turning back to her book and missing the exchange that passed between Ron and his lover.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"What was so important that Petunia could not wait for the weekend?" Sapphires looked up from her desk as Winter and Harry walked into her bedroom, followed shortly after by Theo and Blaise.

"Nothing much, she wanted me to work with the new apprentice and she had a personal message for Harry." Winter shrugged offhandedly.



"Draco received a personal message today," Blaise perked up at Winter's words.

"That would explain why you're here." Sapphires answered her own unspoken question as she watched the brunet take a seat between Harry and Theo on the given chairs.

"Ah, yes," Blaise blushed. "I was wondering if perhaps you knew something. It's rare for Mr. Malfoy to ask Draco to leave during the school term... so rare, that this is only the second time that he has done it and the first time was when Draco's grandmother was on her deathbed." Blaise explained quickly.

"We're well aware of Lord Malfoy's manners... Indeed, something has happened, but I do not understand why Master Malfoy would be involved now. Lord Malfoy has been very adamant in keeping his heir very well in the dark about all of this. What would be his reason to communicate with Draco about the latest incident?" Winter looked from one face to the other, expecting an answer that she was not entire sure she wanted to know.

"Perhaps Lord Malfoy does not intend to warn Master Malfoy about the incident. Perhaps he has other plans, plans that could concur with what is happening but keeping Master Malfoy ignorant of it all." Sapphires supplied quietly.

Winter let her eyes linger on Sapphires before they settled on Theo. "You're the Lord's personal liaison and guard. What has he said about his plans for the little snake?"

Theo shook his head. "I know that he doesn't plan on telling the young master anything, but I do not know of any other plans. You know him as well as I do, Carrie. He would not discuss it with me unless he really had to, considering my position between him and the phoenix." Theo let his eyes cross briefly towards Harry before locking his gaze with Winter once more.

"Very well, I take it that Master Malfoy will be meeting his father." Winter turned to Blaise.

"Yes, of course. He will be going this weekend." Blaise offered but his was voice disbelieving, as though the question was not even required to be asked.

"He will wait until the weekend?" Theo asked in surprise.

"Hermione surmised that as Mr. Malfoy did not require Draco's presence immediately, then it would be obvious that he could wait until the weekend and not disturb his studies." Blaise shrugged, but the small blush that pinked his cheeks spoke of the amusement and embarrassment that it cause him to admit the reasoning.

"Smart girl," Sapphires smirked before lifting herself from her desk seat and moving towards the door. "Perhaps a late snack would be ideal, unless you guys had dinner before returning from _Masquerade_," Her eyebrows lifted in question.

"I'll rather not. Any news from the _Lord_ ruins my appetite." Harry spoke out for the first time but his voice was not as vicious as it had been earlier.

"Very well, we'll see you tomorrow." Winter nodded, sharing a look with the two other guards, everyone filing out of bedroom. "We'll bid you goodnight too, Mr. Zabini. We wouldn't want to make you miss curfew." She smiled before walking in the opposite 

direction of the bedroom's wing.

"Goodnight professor, Moon, Nott." Blaise nodded his goodbye to the group and turned to join Harry, who had already begun to head down the corridor.

A few minutes of walking in morbid silently made Blaise uneasy enough to break it, blurting out the first thing that came to his mind. "Do you think that Draco could be in danger?"

Harry faulted in mid-step, but recovered rather quickly, however, he was not fast enough as Blaise caught the frown of worry that flitted past his face. "As much as I would hate to admit it – and I will deny it, even under threat of torture – Lord Malfoy is rather resourceful, he would not let anything come to harm... Draco." Harry whispered, the defying undertone giving no mistake in the raven's displeasure in declaring such a thing.

"Would you?"

"Would I what?" Harry threw a short sideways look at the brunet.

"Would you let anything come to harm Draco?" Blaise rephrased.

Harry stopped, turning to look at the Slytherin. It took Blaise a few seconds to realise what was happening. Slowly he turned and met the Gryffindor's analysing gaze. Green eyes searched hazel orbs, criticising every movement.

A small nod of satisfaction was all the answer that Blaise received as Harry began to walk on, leaving the confused brunet to catch up with him.

"I would rather die than let the person that I love suffer," Harry answered, but the bitterness in his voice spoke of a second meaning that Blaise was unable to decipher.

The Zabini heir nodded, keeping his silence for the remainder of the trip back to their bedroom, which was not far.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Hey, where have you been?" Draco sat up from the bed as Harry and Blaise walked into room, his smile faltering slightly as Blaise blushed before continuing to his bathroom with nothing but a nod in greeting. "What happened?" Draco asked carefully, unsure of how to thread when Harry looked so cagey.

Harry looked at Draco for a few minutes, the intensity of his gaze making the blond squirm slightly as he slowly climbed out of the bed and took a wary step towards the smaller boy.

"Harry?" Draco asked again, his voice a worried whisper as he took another cautious step forward. Harry seemed to cave into himself with exhaustion as his eyes glassed over with unshed tears and he closed the distance between them and buried his face under Draco's chin, tucking himself into the comfort. Draco instantly wrapped his arms around the raven, his worry increasing tenfold as he realised that Harry was shaking uncontrollably.

"Promise me something," Harry mumbled, his lips brushing over the blond's skin, making him shiver despite the upsetting position that they stood in.

"Anything, love," Draco agreed readily without thinking.

"Promise me that you won't do anything foolish, anything dangerous." Harry pulled away, his eyes slightly red and glossy, his gaze hardening as he met confused grey eyes.

"What?"

"Promise me." Harry pulled further away, his jaw setting in a stubborn line and his frown intensifying.

"I promise, love." Draco whispered after a few seconds and Harry buried himself in the embrace once more, his shaking frame solidifying somewhat.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Draco asked, risking the gentle atmosphere that had settled. Harry shook his head 'no', brushing his nose above the blond's collarbone.

"May I kiss you?"

Harry snapped his head up, inches away from hitting the top of his head on the pale chin above, his eyes colliding with pleading orbs. Slowly his arms reached up and circled Draco's neck, their faces inched apart. They were a breath away; their eyelashes fluttering close as their lips brushed lightly before pressing closer.

Draco moaned happily at the contact and pressed a little closer, but taking his time to keep from scaring Harry away. He pulled away but his arms tightened around the slight body as he began to rain small brushed kissed on the raven's cheeks, nose, neck, chin, and anywhere else he could reach before burying his face his Harry's neck. "Gods, I fall deeper and deeper in love with you." He broke; his voice a mixture of emotions.

Harry pulled away slightly, his arms falling to his side, smiling as a small noise of frightened protest escaped the blond aristocrat. His hands pulled back up and cupped the pale jaw and his thumb caressed the cheeks, "Enough to make me cry?"

"But only tears of pure joy," Draco turned his face to place a kiss on the palm of Harry's right hand as he placed his fingers over the smaller, darker hands, "Tears of unadulterated love."


	12. Coldness

Chapter Twelve

_Coldness_

"I want to know about Winter." The voice was small, almost nonexistent.

"What about her?" Harry turned to face Draco. The blond was leaning against the balcony's window frame.

"Are you dating her?" Grey eyes turned away from the window's view, momentarily, as they fell on Harry. The raven was lazing across the armchair.

Harry looked up again, meeting Draco's gaze before the blond looked away. He didn't answer and the silence fell heavily across the room.

"Are you dating Winter?"Draco asked again, his voice breaking.

"She's a professor," Harry shrugged, his eyes drifting across the book on his lap.

"Didn't stop you from kissing her... are you dating her?"

Harry snapped the book shut, his eyes rising to meet Draco's again. The blond was breathing hard, his hands curling into fists as he tried to calm his frustration and fear.

"Yes."

He chocked, slipping down to rest on the floor, his back to the balcony door. "You let me kiss you... Why did you let me kiss you? Is this just a game to you?" Grey eyes misted with unshed tears. "Why... why... can't you love... how-" Blond bangs fell forward as Draco let his face bow to cover his trembling lips.

"You expected me to fall in love with you with a kiss," It wasn't so much a question as it was a statement but Harry let the tension fall with awaiting enquiry.

"Is it so hard to believe? What makes you so special Harry Potter that such a plebeian emotion can't affect you?" Draco looked up, his hurt grey eyes steeling darkly. "Why can you claim my love with a smile but refuse to give me yours with a kiss?" A silvery tear slipped unchecked.

Harry stood up, Draco flinched as he thought that the raven-haired youth was about to leave him, but Harry walked up to him, kneeling in front of him. Ever so slowly, his small hand reached up and his elegant fingertips brushed against the pale cheek, removing the salty trail of pain and locking his gaze with Draco's. "You asked me if I was dating Winter, not if I was in love her."

"Do you love her?"

"Yes." Draco looked away. "She has been a close friend for a very long time. But I am not in love with her." Harry smiled, grey eyes snapped back up to meet green.

"Are you in love with me?"

Harry didn't say a word. His eyes softened and another smile curled on the edge of his lips. He leaned closer, his breath whispering against Draco's own lips. "I would like to be," he pulled back slightly before turning his face and burying his face in Draco's hair.

Draco chocked out a small sob, pulling Harry into his arms and hiding his face under the darker neck. "But why are you with her?"

"I'm with her for my protection as much as yours." Harry whispered, scowling as Draco pulled away to look at him with confusion dancing in his eyes.

"What does that mean?"

"It doesn't matter. Come, get up, you can't be very comfortable." Harry pulled at the pale hand that curled in his own.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"It hurts, it hurts, so sad, so hurt.

"Pitiful,

"So beautiful, so sad, hurt, so hurt,

"What a shame.

"Perfect, so perfect, so broken,

"Mine, all mine, should have been mine, was all mine.

"Took him from me,

"Spiteful, selfish, thief,"

"What are you nattering off about?" A voice broke through the tirade as a second person walked into the clearing.

The first presence scowled, refusing to acknowledge the other and most importantly, their statement.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Draco was unabashedly happy on Friday morning. True, Harry was back to giving him the cold shoulder once they were in the public eye but otherwise Harry Potter was the living definition of 'perfection'.

The blond couldn't be happier. Their nightly rituals hadn't changed much. They still slept together, however, now they shared more intimate moments but nothing too heavy. More often than not, Harry was found encased in Draco's arms every morning, and the dark-haired youth initiated a lot of the heavier moments between them.

Too be fair, they hadn't spend that much time together, _together_, but being with Harry made the blond aristocrat obsessively joyous. He wanted to shout it out to the world. Tell everyone that he met that Harry was his. His! He knew better, and although he didn't understand what it was that Harry was hiding from and what he was being protected from, it didn't make him any less excited.

Unfortunately for him, his carelessness was about to be called upon.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Harry Potter, I will like to see you in my office after class." Winter's voice was a caress, making the students before her shiver in response, but the undertone spoke of poison.

Harry nodded his head in understanding.

Everyone filed out, some taking furtive looks back to see if anything happened whilst the class was dismissed, but Winter and the three students that stood their ground remained passive and unresponsive.

As soon as the last student left the classroom and the door slammed shut, Winter turned her attention to her students. "Follow me." She pivoted towards a concealed exit and made quick work of her exit, not waiting to see if the students did as she bid.

"I believe this is your last lesson, is it not?" Winter focused on the dark-haired youth as the four in company made their selves comfortable in their own places of choice.

"Yes, it is." Harry nodded.

"Then you can sit with us." Winter tilted her head, her request leaving no room for arguments. The boy did as he was told.

"What is it now?" Harry asked, after he had made himself more comfortable.

"You have let the Malfoy boy too close." Sapphires answer for the older girl.

"Have I?" An arched brown rose in challenge.

"He has to see the _Lord _tomorrow and you should know your place." Theo input inertly.

"I am well aware of what he has to do tomorrow and as for what my place is... I must wonder if perhaps you have forgotten your place." The words were spoken to the three in general but his focus remained on Carrie Winter.

"Our place is to protect you," Sapphires began.

"Well, you will have to make up your mind: you either want me to befriend them or you do not." Harry spoke up, his voice no less loud but just that much harder.

"Things change, Phoenix." Winter frowned, defending herself.

"Really?" Harry lifted a sardonic eyebrow in amusement.

"At the time that I made that request, Nott and Moon were not present, I just wanted you to have the company, if you needed it. Now things are not only complicated in your relationship with the Lord, but also with you and the young Master. Wormtail is on the loose, and Tom has set him onto something." Winter stood up, her argument vehement as she advanced on the younger man.

"I will not stop living my life because some power-hungry bastard doesn't like the idea of competition!" Harry retorted just as strongly.

"He will use the Malfoy against you, you know he will. He has done it before!" She shouted, recoiling seconds later as she realised what she had said.

Harry stood back as though stung. "Of course... _he_ would use a Malfoy." He straightened himself into semblance of controlled indifference. "We have work in a few hours, I suggest you get ready."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Draco rolled his head from side to side slowly. He was tired. Harry had gone out the previous evening and hadn't returned until some time in the early morning. He knew that because he has stayed up, waiting for him and ended up falling asleep sometime around three in the morning, only to wake up momentarily when Harry coxed him away from the sofa and into bed; then he was woken by his alarm clock, letting him know that it was time to start the day, which was to be spent with his Father.

He moved slowly, trying very hard not to disturb Harry's sleep. He still didn't know what the raven did when he left the school grounds, and he didn't want to ask him because he didn't want Harry to think that he was stalking him. It still worried him nonetheless and he couldn't help but feel jealous. The notion that the love of his life was in a club doing heaven knows what with his Art's teacher, it didn't sit well with him but there was nothing he could do. He hated it and he wanted to change that certain status quo, but he wanted to establish a proper relationship with the Gryffindor first. Stake his claim before he demanded that he belonged solely to the aristocrat and that the sassy dancer could have nothing to do with him in any way or form. He didn't share, love being the most important gift that he cherished and guarded covetously.

Draco froze as Harry scrunched up his nose in displeasure before turning and burying his face in the blond's pillow. The Slytherin smiled tenderly, ghosting his fingers over the unruly dark hair before pushing gently from the bed and making his way to the bathroom.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Draco arrived home just before midday. The dark emerald green Bentley Arnage pulled past the heavy black gothic gates and slowed to a snail pace as it drove up the dirty path - outlines by pristine, clear-cut lawns.

Regardless of the unhurried drive, the Bentley arrived at the top of the hill, before the front doors of the Manor, in no time. Draco looked out the window, a shudder running down his spine as he caught sight of the perfection that stood looming over the grounds.

The chauffeur stepped out and walked around the elegant body, reaching Draco's door swiftly and opening it gently.

Draco stepped out with precise movements, nodding his gratitude to the older man before making short work to the large doors where the butler stood waiting.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"How hard can it be?"

"What is that supposed to mea--"

The door burst open and Draco Malfoy walked in, livid. At first, he didn't seem to realise that he was not alone in the bedroom, slowly, his burning eyes turned and caught green eyes and locked them in a heated gaze.

"Get out," Draco commanded, his hand movement instantly waving to Carrie Winter, which was the only other presence. She opened her lips to argue but Draco beat her to it as he shouted, "Now!" his voice resonating across the otherwise quite room.

Winter winced and did as she was told.

Harry didn't blink or move from where he stood by his bathroom door. "You do realise that you have walked into the wrong room," he whispered, the moment that Winter had closed the door behind her.

"No I haven't, I am right where I want to be." Draco argued, not letting his eyes break the contact as they stood quietly for a few more seconds. "Right where I need to be," he whispered, moving forward and standing right in front of Harry, in a few long strides; pausing only a moment before crashing his lips to the slender boy and pushing him roughly against the door.

Harry moaned excitedly, his hands flying to clutch at the broad shoulders; his lips succumbing to the harsh kiss and his tender body melded against the strong, muscled structure that pushed onto him.

"All I want, need, desire, live for, is _you – _nothing else, never, ever anything else."

"Potter—" Blaise froze, his face paling in surprise.

"Get the fuck out!" Draco roared; rounding to the taller man, his face a clear mask of fury making the Italian backtrack in haste, slamming the door shut in alarm.

The blond turned back to Harry burying his face under his pale neck, "I'm sorry," the moment was lost. He kissed the tender skin frantically, littering the flesh with pecks and nips of apology. "I'm so desperate for you... I'm consumed by everything that is you, I don't know what to do, how to control myself... I don't want to hurt you."

Harry breathed in deeply, closing his eyes against the words that stumbled out of those sinful lips that wrecked havoc with his emotions and his libido. "You are making things so hard for me." He whispered.

Draco chocked, falling to his knees and burying his face on the warm, exposed, pliant midriff. "Love me, please... love me back."


End file.
